Amazon India signs MoU with KSRLPS in support of women entrepreneurs

Amazon India has signed an MoU with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to support the growth of women entrepreneurs across the state. The MoU was signed in the presence of Basavaraj Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, and CN Ashwath Narayan, the minister of skill development, entrepreneurship and livelihood, Karnataka.

Through this association, Amazon India will launch Sanjeevini-KSRLPS on its marketplace and also extend the benefits of the ‘Saheli’ programme to train and empower thousands of women entrepreneurs from the state of Karnataka to come online and access a wider market for their products. This association will help bring in regional selection and unique products from categories like grocery, home and fashion accessories made by over 30,000 women entrepreneurs and self-help groups (SHGs) associated with Sanjeevini-KSRLPS online and make them available to millions of Amazon customers across the country, according to a press release by Amazon.

Amazon’s Saheli programme offers extensive training and skill development workshops for its partners to help women entrepreneurs associated with them understand the nuances of online selling and develop skills and capabilities necessary to grow their business on Amazon.in. These training workshops comprise sessions on the listing of products, imaging and cataloguing, packaging and shipping, inventory and account management, and customer servicing and offer other attractive benefits to sellers in the Saheli programme including assisted onboarding and mentorship programmes at no additional cost.

“One of the key priorities of our government is to establish a flourishing ecosystem for women entrepreneurs of Karnataka, especially from rural areas and I would like to commend Amazon for their efforts and initiatives in this area. Our association with Amazon will give wings to the dreams of women entrepreneurs from Karnataka and support our capacity building initiatives for women entrepreneurs,” Ashwath Narayan, minister of skill development, entrepreneurship and livelihood, government of Karnataka, said.

“This association with the Karnataka government is aligned with our commitment to digitally enable ten million MSMEs by 2025. We will work with KSRLPS to bring the benefits of e-commerce to thousands of women entrepreneurs and SHGs across the state and help them kickstart their journey as digital entrepreneurs.  We are confident that access to a comprehensive suite of services and support from our Saheli programme will help these entrepreneurs realise their true potential,” Sumit Sahay, director, selling partner services, Amazon India, said.

Launched in 2017, Amazon Saheli is a programme that enables women entrepreneurs to become successful sellers on Amazon. Today, Amazon Saheli works with over 60 partners such as National Urban Livelihood Mission, Sewa, Read India, with a reach of 10,00,000 women entrepreneurs.