Bezos Assures India Inc On Amazon’s Commitment To Market

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos’ three-day visit has come to an end. But his commitment towards creating sustainable growth for the country is here to stay, the CEO said. This is seen in the slew of announcements made by the company, including ‘Make in India’ product exports, 1 Mn jobs target, deployment of 10K electric rickshaws, doubling the investment in OTT platform and investing $1 Bn to digitise small and medium businesses.

Attending another event with industry leaders in Mumbai on Friday (January 17), Bezos met Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, Godrej Group chairman Adi Godrej, Zarin Daruwala of Standard Chartered Bank, Xiaomi India Head Manu Kumar Jain, Bank of America’s Kaku Nakhate among others.

Bezos, in an open letter this week, shared his views about Amazon’s impact in India. Bezos said that over 5.5 Lakh small and medium enterprises are using the Amazon marketplace to offer India’s largest selection of products.

Through its Amazon’s Karigar and Saheli initiative Bezos said it will be enabling over a million artisans and women entrepreneurs to go online. At present, more than 60K businesses are exporting ‘Make in India’ products globally, with cumulative exports more than $1 Bn, he added.

Bezos also said that millions of Amazon Prime members across India are enjoying unlimited free and fast delivery and ad-free streaming of blockbuster movies and series. “Alexa can now speak in Hindi and English seamlessly, and offer more than 30K skills from practising yoga to reciting Panchatantra,” he added.

Bezos said that Amazon India will be investing $1 Bn to digitize small and medium businesses across India, including cities, towns and villages, thereby helping them reach out to more customers like never before.

He further said that Amazon will use its global footprint to enable $10 Bn of exports of Indian products to the rest of the world by 2025. At the same time, generate more than 1 Mn jobs across the country, where it will be investing in technology, infrastructure and logistics among others to fulfil this commitment.

On January 16, at the Amazon Prime Video event held in Mumbai, Bezos in a fireside chat with Bollywood celebrities Shah Rukh Khan and film director Zoya Akhtar said that the company is going to double its investment in Amazon Prime Video in the coming days.

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