This case study examines the contrasting business trajectories of two Zari-Zardozi artisans from Bareilly—Md Yameen, a traditional craftsman rooted in informal systems, and Noumaan, a digitally driven entrepreneur. It highlights the socio-economic and technological challenges faced by artisans like Yameen, including delayed payments, lack of digital literacy, financial exclusion and limited market access. In contrast, Noumaan leverages digital tools such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Vyapar, WhatsApp Business, and influencer-led marketing to enhance efficiency, transparency and visibility. His strategic use of social media and online workflows resulted in a 40% surge in sales, with 70% of the increase attributed to digital outreach. The study further explores gendered cultural constraints within this Muslim-dominated craft, where women’s contributions remain unrecognized. Through strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) and political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE) analyses, multi-stakeholder insights, and practical visual aids, the case underscores the role of digital adoption in revitalizing traditional crafts. It concludes with a ‘replication potential’ assessment of Noumaan’s model and includes a reader-oriented, problem-solving prompt, encouraging practical thinking on digital transformation for grassroots artisans. The study offers actionable lessons for policymakers, researchers and entrepreneurs engaged in informal sector development.
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Juneja et al. (2025) studied this question.
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