Creativity and Innovation Award for Small Enterprises 2011

Dec 30, 2011

New Delhi, India – Tuesday, February 21st 2012, N. K. Chaudhary, founder and Chief Managing Director of JAIPUR Rugs Group, has been awarded the “Dr. J. S. Junela Award for Creativity & Innovation in Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises” by All India Management Association (AIMA) during their Foundation Day, for giving employment to thousands of artisans in rural India through a vertically integrated business model that guarantees international standards of quality.

The annual event is organized by All India Management Association, which is an apex body of management with over 30,000 individual members, 3,000 institutional members and 60 Local Management Association across India and overseas, receiving the support of the central Government of India.

“We learn to manage innovation and to be creative in our daily activities: as our supply chain encompasses more than 80 processes from the sheep in the villages to the retailer or end-user in rich markets. During the years, we had to introduce systems and organize our operations to achieve our goals: on one side, to increase the number of rural artisans that we provide a sustainable income with, and, on the other side, to maintain the «the 0 defects quality» standard in the final product. That is the challenge that we took: how to accomplish both these goals simultaneously.” explains Nand Kishore Chaudhary.

Kamal Nath, Honorable Union Minister for Urban Development of India, has presented the award in the presence of over 500 business people, government representatives, ambassadors and national media representatives. “Small & medium enterprises play an important role in providing vast employment opportunities, especially for rural people, so we support and congratulate social enterprises like Jaipur Rugs” says Kamal Nath.

In 1978, N. K. Chaudhary started working in the carpet industry with only two looms and nine weavers; today, JAIPUR has a consolidated network of more than 40,000 artisans in 8 states in the northern part of India. By offering fair wages and working on a social business model which allows the integration of artisans in the production chain, JAIPUR Rugs is seeking to improve their quality of life. Jaipur Rugs Foundation, JAIPUR entity and non-profit organization, further catalyzes sustainable livelihood for the artisans through rug weaving training & educational programs.

Jaipur Rugs Company has committed to train 10,000 people in northern India on advanced rug weaving techniques and provide them with access to global markets by 2015 as part of the membership in the Business Call to Action (BCtA), a global initiative that encourages companies to fight poverty while boosting business opportunities in developing countries. Here are more details.