US-based e-commerce company Etsy Inc has appointed Pankaj Jathar as the Vice President and Country Head for India. He was earlier the CEO of Prione, a joint venture between Amazon and private equity fund, Catamaran, which Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy floated. 

Jathar held various senior roles at Amazon between 2011 and 2017 and was part of its Indian operations launch team. An engineer from Mumbai's Bharati Vidyapeeth University with an MBA from Kolkata's Indian Institute of Management, he has also worked with Accenture.  

While announcing Jathar's announcement, the Nasdaq-listed Etsy said he would lead its India business to scale its marketplace capabilities further and determine additional growth opportunities in the country. "I am confident that Pankaj's leadership and expertise will steer us in the right direction. We believe he is a transformational business leader with experience leading cross-functional organisations, developing best-in-class teams, and delivering integrated solutions to achieve business goals," said Ryan Scott, Chief Marketing Officer, Etsy Inc.

Since its launch in 2005, Etsy has become a niche destination for consumers seeking handcrafted products by local artisans. The online marketplace has been investing in India, which it considers one of its seven core markets globally. It recently added the Indian rupee to its payments platform to offer a more localised checkout experience for buyers in India. It also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation to support the region's small sellers, weavers, and artisans.  

According to Statista, India's e-commerce industry in 2018 was approximately $22 billion in market value and is estimated to reach $200 billion by 2027. Several home grown companies, like ShoppingKart24, are helping artisans, weavers and craftspeople sell their products online to reach a wider consumer base. Etsy, too, hope to tap this market with Jathar's appointment.