Amazon partners with Startup India to boost ecommerce exports from India

·         Launches a Startup Accelerator to help emerging brands access global markets

·         Participating startups stand to win rewards worth $50,000 and get a chance to pitch to partner VC firms

·         Amazon to provide 1:1 mentorship and share knowledge on working in global markets 

January, 2021: Amazon today announced the launch of Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP), an initiative designed to provide dedicated support to emerging Indian brands and startups to reach customers around the world. Amazon has partnered with Startup India to launch an accelerator program to help early-stage startups in the consumer products space to launch in international markets and create global brands from India through Amazon’s Global Selling program.

As part of the Startup Accelerator, Amazon has constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VCs and senior leaders from Startup India, Invest India who will engage with emerging brands and provide them tailored resources, 1:1 mentorship on the global demand patterns and insights on building successful exports business through ecommerce. Amazon will also host open virtual mentorship sessions focused on peer learning by inviting veteran entrepreneurs and members from its mentorship board for startups, to network and learn from their existing ecosystem. The accelerator program will provide startups an opportunity to showcase their business proposition to partner VC firms – Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures anda chance to win a total equity free grant of $50,000 from Amazon.

“The adoption of technology and digital transformation has paved the way for India to be at the forefront of innovation, giving rise to some of the best startups in the world. There are many promising, emerging brands that have the capability to become big and go global. This is a timely initiative by Amazon which can prove to be a big stepping stone for startups to build their business and get access to global markets.” said Mr. Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India.

Amit Agarwal, Global Senior Vice President and Country Head Amazon India said, “Amazon Global Selling, our flagship program to grow Exports from India is witnessing tremendous momentum with increasing interest from exporters across India. Our partnership with Startup India to launch this accelerator program will provide emerging brands an opportunity to bring their business propositions to life and help create globally popular brands from India. With Amazon Global Selling we will continue to make Exports simple and accessible to businesses of all sizes and fulfill our commitment of enabling $10 billion in e-commerce exports from India by 2025.”

More about the Startup Accelerator

The entries for the startup accelerator open today until 7^th February 2021. The interested startups can log on to http://www.amazon.in/propeland complete their application. Early stage startups in the consumer products space (raised funding in the post seed to pre series A stage, if funded) with a vision to expand their business to global markets can apply to be a part of the accelerator program. The entries will be evaluated by an Amazon led panel on the basis of the business idea, scalability and strength of the business plan/model, business metrics in launched markets, founding team credentials amongst others. Ten shortlisted applicants will be inducted into the startup accelerator.

The program will feature a six week 1:1 mentorship module for the shortlisted participants where they will get to interact with Amazon leaders from India and worldwide and get firsthand knowledge on building and scaling up exports business through ecommerce. Amazon will provide the support for these startups to launch their products worldwide through its Exports program – Amazon Global Selling. The accelerator program will provide startups a chance to showcase their business proposition to partner VC firms – Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures. The top 3 winners will get a total equity free grant of $50,000 from Amazon.

For more information, please visit http://www.amazon.in/propel.

About Amazon Global Selling

Launched in 2015 with about 100 exporters, Amazon Global Selling today enables more than 70,000 Indian exporters to sell millions of ‘Made in India’ products to customers worldwide through its 15 international websites in countries such as USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Australia and Singapore. It took the program three years to hit cumulative exports of $1 billion and it has grown 100% to hit the next $1 billion in the next 18 months, to cross the $2 billion milestone in cumulative exports from India. The program is rapidly boosting exports from India and helping build global Indian brands. In 2019, more than 800 Indian MSMEs on the program surpassed $131, 375 (INR 1 crore) in e-commerce exports sales.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About Invest India

Invest India, set up in 2009, is a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. As the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and development of partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India. Invest India also actively works with several Indian states to build capacity as well as bring in global best practices in investment targeting, promotion and facilitation areas.

About Startup India

Startup India is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyse startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India. Since the launch of the initiative on 16th January, 2016, Startup India has rolled out several programs with the objective of supporting entrepreneurs, and transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers.