Amazon Partners With Startup India To Help Startups Leverage Ecommerce Opportunity

Amazon India has partnered with Startup India to undertake multiple initiatives to empower startups to build and grow their businesses via ecommerce. 

“Amazon will collaborate with Startup India to enable eligible startups to tap into opportunities in ecommerce by registering on Amazon India’s marketplace through a dedicated page on the Startup India portal,” the ecommerce giant said in a statement.

The company said that it will provide dedicated onboarding experience, along with mentorship from Amazon leaders, go-to-market support and logistics guidance to the startups.

Amazon said it also aims to empower women entrepreneurs via its ‘Saheli’ program by partnering with Startup India. The Saheli programme aims to support women entrepreneurs by providing a platform to showcase their locally made products.

“The collaboration will drive a high-impact learning program designed to fuel the ecommerce journeys of eligible women led small and medium businesses in India,” the statement said.

Additionally, Amazon will also help in creating awareness about the Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) initiative, a digital platform for startups, launched by the central government to facilitate growth of the Indian startup ecosystem.

“… By combining Amazon’s ecommerce expertise with Startup India’s role as the Government of India’s flagship initiative for the development of the startup ecosystem, we will provide a robust platform for Indian startups and businesses to scale domestically…” DPIIT joint secretary Sanjiv said. 

Earlier this month, Amazon India also partnered with India Post to facilitate customer deliveries across every pin code in the country.

Last month, the ecommerce platform also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of labour and employment to post work opportunities at Amazon’s corporate offices and operations network on the National Career Service (NCS) portal. 

Amazon is among the key players in the Indian ecommerce space and competes with the likes of Flipkart and Meesho. While it is yet to turn profitable in India, the US-based giant continues to bet on India, which is an important market for it.

However, the company continues to be troubled by regulatory and other issues in the country. Recently, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart guilty of violating competition laws. 

The antitrust watchdog has sought turnover details from both ecommerce giants to determine the penalty to be levied on them for flouting antitrust norms.

Besides, Amazon is also facing increasing competition from quick commerce players like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto as they expand their catalogue.