Anou, the accessible Etsy of Morocco

Etsy is great for the small-time crafts-person to reach new audiences. But there one problem: If you’re among the millions of artisans around the world with limited reading and writing ability, it won’t help much.

Anou, a new website launched in Morocco, helps rural artisans cut out middlemen. And you don’t have to read or write to use it. 

Morocco is famous for its artisan crafts, like rugs, lamps, jewelry and mosaics.

A few years ago, Anou founder Dan Driscoll and some colleagues were working as Peace Corps volunteers in Morocco and noticed that many artisans were living in poverty. Some make only around $100 a month. The Anou site addresses the technological hurdle of posting to the web — but that’s just the first step in a much bigger process of becoming actual business owners.