Chosen from more than 440 organisations across 52 countries, 200 Million Artisans is the only Indian organisation and the only craft-focused project in Catalytic Capital Consortium’s new cohort. Its Capital Activation Engine aims to deploy as much as $6 million in catalytic capital to craft-led enterprises over three years

MUMBAI, October 20, 2026: 200 Million Artisans (200M) is launching the latest edition of Kula Innovate Capital Activation Engine to build the market infrastructure needed to accelerate the flow of catalytic capital to craft-led enterprises in India, while creating a roadmap for craft-led value chains globally.

The project is one of seven, announced this month by the Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) to accelerate the supply and deployment of catalytic capital around the world. 200M is the only organisation selected from India, and the only one working with craft-based value chains. As anchor funder of the Engine, C3 deepens a relationship that began with its support for 200M’s pioneering research, Business of Handmade 2nd Edition: Financing a Handmade Revolution (2023).

Over three years, the Engine aims to mobilise as much as $6 million in catalytic capital, starting with up to $750,000 in its first year.

Why This Moment Matters

India’s Creative Manufacturing and Handmade (CMH) sector supports the livelihoods of an estimated 200 million people, intersecting with climate resilience, gender inclusion, and stable rural livelihoods.

Yet most craft-led enterprises sit in a $20,000 to $600,000 financing gap: too large for grants, too informal for conventional lenders. Business of Handmade (2023) research shows that 92% of craft-led enterprises are open to catalytic capital, but fewer than 10% have easy access to it.

The barriers sit on both sides. Enterprises need support to grow operations and sales, often with production cycles that run six to nine months before payment. Investors lack the tools to assess and back them. And with the EU Digital Product Passport mandatory for textiles from 2027, enterprises must now document what craft already does well.

How the Engine Works

Track 1: Kula Innovate 2027. An India-wide challenge across three focus areas: Climate Smart Futures, Inclusive Business Models and Future-Ready Systems. The challenge will award 10 to 15 high-potential enterprises, whose founders join an Enterprise Residency to become capital-ready, market-ready and impact-ready.

Track 2: Deployment Infrastructure. A monthly Community of Practice of capital providers and sector experts, two global Capital Futures Labs where investors and enterprises co-design financial instruments, and sector-specific underwriting frameworks.  All of this will be captured in an open-access Capital Activation Playbook for replication across Asia, Africa and Latin America, to be released at the end of 2027.

This work is already travelling. With BESTSELLER Foundation, 200M is creating a pioneering gender-disaggregated evidence base on Bangladesh’s CMH sector through the Business of Handmade Bangladesh Edition – Powered by Her: Women, Craft and the Case for Catalytic Capital in Bangladesh, culminating in a 2027 convening in Dhaka.

Building on Two Editions of Kula Innovate

The Engine builds on two editions of Kula Innovate, India’s first sector-specific innovation and capital platform for craft-led enterprises. Across both editions, Kula Innovate:

• Drew over 400 applicants and backed 38 enterprises

• Supported enterprises that are 60% women-led

• Reached more than 50,000 livelihoods

• Unlocked $250,000 in catalytic capital, with around $600,000 in traceable follow-on investment

• Served as an early testing ground for catalytic instruments, including low-interest debt and bridge financing

“Innovative leaders the world over are making strides in developing solutions that deliver beyond the immediate transaction and capital gap,” said Urmi Sengupta, Chair, Project Advisory Board, Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3). “With these new grants, the goal is to both strengthen the conditions under which capital can be mobilized and to unlock new sources of capital. Both are needed to meet the significant global need for impact-first investments.”

“Craft-led enterprises are decentralised by design, not deficit. For five years, we have seen makers and founders create real businesses with little access to capital that understands how they work. With C3 and our partners, we want to build that capital-readiness infrastructure, so the sector can grow on its own terms,” said Priya Krishnamoorthy, Founder and CEO, 200 Million Artisans.

Read the full announcement here.      

 Learn more about the cohort of Accelerating Supply & Deployment Projects here. 

Already at the Table

200M and C3 are joined by partners, many of whom have already backed enterprises in the Kula community:

• R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund invests in early-stage artisan enterprises creating sustainable livelihoods for rural communities. It offers grants and investment, and supports the selection panel, mentorship and Enterprise Residency.

“Craft-led enterprises are a vital, yet typically overlooked and undercapitalized, driver of rural economic development. Through the Capital Activation Engine, 200 Million Artisans is helping these enterprises grow and extend their positive economic and social impact”
– Ellen Fish, Founder, R.I.S.E. Artisan Fund

• Upaya Social Ventures is a nonprofit impact investor whose portfolio has created over 46,000 dignified jobs across India. It offers investment, joins the selection panel and brings its technical expertise to the Enterprise Residency.
  
  “Craft is a source of work for millions in India, but low incomes are leading the next generation of artisans to leave it behind. Impact-first, catalytic capital that is patient and built for how craft enterprises actually work can help them grow and create sustainable jobs that make this a livelihood worth inheriting.”
  – Shruti Goel, CEO, Upaya Social Ventures 

• Inclusion Finance is an impact-first investor providing patient, concessionary capital to social enterprises. It offers debt-based investment, and supports the selection panel, mentorship and Residency. 
• Next Bharat Ventures, is a new-age impact fund backed by Japanese Capital, focused on supporting entrepreneurs enhancing quality of life for India’s informal and rural economies. It offers Residency places and catalytic capital for aligned enterprises.

“We see the Community of Practice as an opportunity to share perspectives with like-minded capital providers and build a stronger pipeline of entrepreneurs in creative manufacturing and handmade sectors. Patient capital, collective learning and collaboration can help unlock the potential of these sectors and create meaningful impact at scale.” 

– Sachin Richa Ahuja, Founding Member, Next Bharat Ventures 

An Invitation to Shape, Not Just Fund

A small group of capital partners is forming around the 2027 cohort. 200M welcomes capital providers looking for a de-risked entry point into creative, cultural and craft-led businesses, and who want to shape, with the sector and its communities, how capital is deployed.

The Community of Practice begins convening this year. The first of the global Capital Futures Labs is scheduled for early 2027. Kula Innovate 2027 opens for applications across India around April 2027, and the Capital Activation Playbook will be published open-access by the end of 2027. 

Want a seat at the table to shape inclusive creative futures? Reach out to us at hello@200millionartisans.org

About 200 Million Artisans

200 Million Artisans (200M) is an India-based ecosystem enabler working at the intersection of craft, capital, commerce and culture across the Global South. It works alongside craft-led enterprises, investors and market actors to bridge gaps in information, innovation, capital and networks, with the goal of building inclusive creative economies. Its community-rooted platforms are Business of Handmade (evidence and learning), Kula Conclave and Co-Labs (convenings and learning exchanges) and Kula Innovate (innovation and capital). Built and validated in India over five years with more than 600 enterprises, investors and ecosystem actors, 200M’s model partners locally in each market to co-create insights and infrastructure rooted in context. 200 Million Artisans is a brand operating under C-SHIFT LLP, India.

Websites: 200millionartisans.org | www.businessofhandmade.com | www.kulaconclave.com 

Instagram: @200millionartisans, @kulaconvenings

About the Catalytic Capital Consortium

Catalytic Capital Consortium (C3) is an investment, learning, and market development initiative to promote greater and more effective use of catalytic capital and enable a more just, equitable, and resilient world. Established in 2019 by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Omidyar Network and the Rockefeller Foundation, it was joined in 2025 by Blue Haven Initiative, Builders Vision, Ceniarth, the Ford Foundation, The Lemelson Foundation, Small Foundation, the Sorenson Impact Foundation, the Soros Economic Development Fund, the Surdna Foundation and Walton Family Foundation. For more, visit catalyticcapitalconsortium.org.

Website: www.catalyticcapitalconsortium.org

GET IN TOUCH
For interviews, partnership conversations, meetings with Kula Innovate enterprises or further information, please write to hello@200millionartisans.org (Attn: Minazuddin Kazi).