Amazon India And GAME Sign MOU Under Saheli Program

Boost Rural Women’s Entrepreneurship via E-commerce

• The partnership will provide women entrepreneurs with essential tools, resources, and training to succeed in the digital commerce ecosystem
• Aiming to foster inclusivity and drive economic growth within rural communities, Amazon India and GAME will collaborate to empower 25k+ women entrepreneurs across India

HYDERABAD: Amazon India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ‘The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), to collaborate and promote the digital growth of women entrepreneurs in India, especially in Tier-2, Tier-3 cities, and beyond. Through this partnership, Amazon India will aim to support approximately 25,000 women entrepreneurs and artisans in their digital entrepreneurial journey. GAME is providing inputs in business capacity building, bridging digital marketing skill gaps, and enabling them to aggregate as collected brands. To create platform access and enable financial independence for rural women entrepreneurs and artisans, this initiative will provide the necessary support and resources for them to thrive in the digital landscape.

The MOU between Amazon India and GAME aims to co-develop and facilitate broad-based entrepreneurship to accelerate and sustain the growth of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in India. Amazon Karigar & Saheli will offer workshops/training, onboarding, and AM support for sellers involved in this entrepreneurship without any financial investment. This aligns with Amazon’s commitment to bolster India’s economy and create millions of sustainable jobs by 2030, through partnerships within the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Further, women entrepreneurs will be provided with hands-on training and support on digital marketing initiatives, performance marketing, product listing optimization, and advertising techniques, equipping them to adapt to current and future trends in the digital marketplace. Additionally, they will gain access to valuable data-driven insights and metrics and get better knowledge of customer behavior and market trends.

Commenting on the occasion, Gaurav Bhatnagar Head of Seller Acquisition and Development at Amazon India said, “It is truly inspiring to witness women entrepreneurs nationwide harnessing the power of e-commerce to build and grow their business. Through innovative products, they are catering to customer preferences and establishing scalable enterprises that contribute significantly to societal well-being and the economy. We are honored to be a catalyst in their entrepreneurial journey through our Saheli program. Our steadfast commitment lies in facilitating worldwide customer access, thereby empowering these women to realize their full potential in the dynamic landscape of Digital India.”

Sharing his views on this occasion, Ketul Acharya, President, Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship, “We are delighted to have partnered with Amazon for the Saheli program. GAME’s Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) program seeks to enable women entrepreneurs by enhancing their livelihood opportunities and connecting them with diverse platforms and economic partners. Through this partnership, WEE at GAME is supporting Amazon in solving large-scale ecosystem challenges to women’s economic empowerment with access to training in the digital marketplace as well as research and data about access to new markets.”

Amazon launched its special program for women entrepreneurs, ‘Amazon Saheli’ in 2017, which seeks to bring to the fore locally made products from women entrepreneurs and local women-owned businesses in India. As part of this initiative, Amazon works with partners and women entrepreneurs to drive digitization and to provide requisite tools to women entrepreneurs to enable them to become successful in their digital endeavors. Since its inception, Saheli has digitized over 1.8 million rural, hyperlocal, and urban women-led businesses through its partner network, selling a selection of products such as apparel, jewelry, and groceries, on the e-commerce marketplace. The products are sourced from different (NGOs) across India. More than 80,000+ women artisans are involved in this partnership and benefit from it. The artisans produce and sell these products to support their livelihoods.