By Megha Phansalkar

Long Form Questions

Meaningful Business (MB): What are the challenges you are trying to solve and who are the main beneficiaries?

Megha Phansalkar (MP): India’s artisan economy is rich in skill but fragile in structure. Over 50% of artisans are women, yet very few have access to formal markets, working capital, design innovation, digital literacy, or brand ownership.

At Tisser Artisans Trust, we address three interconnected challenges: invisible labour, where home-based women artisans remain unrecognised and underpaid; market disconnect, where high-quality products lack sustained access to premium buyers; and the circularity gap, where textile waste coexists with livelihood scarcity.

Our primary beneficiaries are women nano and micro-entrepreneurs, home-based artisans, textile waste workers, and underserved youth, while conscious consumers and ethical brands benefit indirectly.

MB: What is your solution and what impact have you made to date?

MP: Tisser operates as an integrated livelihood and circular economy platform that combines skill development, design and product innovation, market linkages (retail, exhibitions, airports and corporate gifting), circular textile recovery, and safe, cluster-based production spaces. Our approach focuses on moving artisans from piece-rate labour to becoming value creators and entrepreneurs.

To date, we have trained and onboarded over 20,000 women artisans across clusters, diverted textile waste into up-cycled collections, created artisan-led exhibitions and retail showcases, built corporate and institutional collaborations generating sustainable income, and increased average earnings for participating women.

Beyond measurable outcomes, our greatest impact is the confidence shift — women who once hesitated to speak now confidently pitch their ideas publicly.

MB: What has been the most complex or underestimated part of delivering this work?

MP: Changing mindset — both within the ecosystem and within the artisans themselves.

It is easier to distribute work than to build entrepreneurship. It is easier to sell products than to build ownership. Building trust in communities takes time. Creating quality consistency across decentralised clusters is complex. Aligning social impact with commercial viability requires constant balancing.

The most underestimated part? The emotional labour of building belief in women who have been told for years that their work is “just stitching.”

MB: What is the biggest threat to you right now and why?

MP: Our biggest threat is sustaining capital while scaling without diluting our purpose. Impact enterprises working at the grassroots often operate on long transformation cycles, whereas funding cycles are short-term. Scaling too quickly risks compromising quality and community depth, while scaling too slowly limits impact. Additionally, there is a risk that “sustainability” becomes a superficial buzzword, where aesthetics overshadow authenticity. We are committed to patient growth, but alignment with long-term capital remains critical.

MB: What is your ambition for the future of your business, and what support do you need to increase your impact?

MP: Our ambition is to build Tisser into a national circular artisan network where waste becomes a livelihood and women become business owners rather than beneficiaries. We envision dedicated artisan production hubs, airport and institutional retail spaces, strong brand collaborations, a replicable cluster model across states, and a craft village integrating safe housing, skill development, and market access. 

To increase our impact, we require patient capital, strategic brand partnerships, policy alignment, access to larger distribution channels, and technology enablement for traceability and digital sales. We believe the future of India’s artisan economy must be structured, scalable, and dignified.

Quickfire Questions

MB: Can you share a mistake that you’ve learned from? 

MP: Early on, I said yes to every opportunity. Not every collaboration aligns with your long-term mission. I’ve learned that clarity is more powerful than urgency.

MB: What is something you wish you were better at?

MP: Letting go and delegating faster. When you build something from scratch, you hold it very closely.

MB: What are you most proud of about your work?

MP: Seeing women introduce themselves as entrepreneurs,  not “helpers” or “housewives.” Identity shift is the real impact.

MB: What is the one book that everyone should read?

MP: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. Not just for business, but for learning how to test ideas, stay adaptive, and build with resilience.

MB: What are the sites, blogs or podcasts that you can’t imagine your day without?

MP: The platforms I regularly turn to include Harvard Business Review for strategic thinking, How I Built This for founder stories, McKinsey & Company Insights for macro trends, and Business of Fashion for industry shifts. These help me stay grounded in both impact and enterprise..