The people behind ImagesBazaar.com say its 800,000+ inventory makes it the world’s largest collection of Indian images. Since India is emerging as a leading market for a growing range of products and services, the company says it has seen a surge in demand for images that show Indian faces in local settings.
Last September, ImagesBazaar has launched a second site, ShotIndia.com. Unlike ImagesBazaar, which only offers professional output, ShotIndia endeavors to take advantage of crowdsourcing. Its more than 3,000 registered users upload images and receive 50% of revenue these generate. The company says it will have 2 million images online by the end of the year.
Founder Sandeep Maheshwari has an ambitious vision of the future: “We will take India to the world. In a few years, we will be behind every possible visual communication about India or Indians anywhere on the globe.” Maheshwari says the company plans to add high-definition video, animation, illustration and three-dimensional graphics to the portfolio of offerings.