iTokri's 95% women team: building India's largest handmade platform from Gwalior

VMPL
Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], June 23: iTokri.com runs its core operations through a team that is 95% women, most from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Gwalior. They are not symbolic hires. They run the daily operations of a platform that ships handmade products from 10,000+ artisan partners to customers across India and 30+ countries.
The team handles cataloguing, product photography, quality checks, packaging, dispatch, and customer support for over 100,000 products across 150+ craft techniques. With 500+ new products listed daily, the work demands speed, precision, and real knowledge of materials and techniques.
What the team actually does
Each product that reaches a customer passes through multiple hands in the Gwalior operations centre. Quality inspectors check weave density, colour fastness, and finishing. Cataloguers identify craft techniques, name materials accurately, and write product descriptions that distinguish a Maheshwari silk-cotton from a Chanderi. Packaging teams handle textiles that range from delicate chiffon dupattas to heavy handloom bedspreads. Customer support staff field questions about fabrics, sizing, and care, often for crafts most people have never heard of.
This is skilled, detail-intensive work. The women doing it have built their expertise on the job, learning to identify 150+ craft techniques across clothing, home textiles, jewellery, and accessories. Many started with no prior formal work experience. Today they manage departments.
Founded in Gwalior, scaled from Gwalior
iTokri was founded in 2010 by Nitin and Jia Pamnani. The decision to build operations in Gwalior, rather than relocating to a metro city, was deliberate. It allowed the company to hire locally and build a team that has stayed and grown with the company.
"We didn't set out to build a women-led team. We hired the best people who showed up, trained hard, and stayed. That turned out to be almost entirely women from this city," said Nitin Pamnani, co-founder, iTokri.com. "Some of them started sorting packages. Now they run departments. They know more about Indian textiles than most people in the industry, because they handle thousands of products every month."
About iTokri
iTokri.com is India's largest curated direct-to-consumer platform for authentic handmade textiles and handicrafts. Founded in 2010, the platform works with 10,000+ artisan partners across 500+ craft clusters, offering over 100,000 products that span clothing, accessories, home textiles, and decor. iTokri ships across India and to 30+ countries. Headquarters: Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.
Media Contact:
iTokri.com Media Relations
Email: media@itokri.com
Website: www.itokri.com
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