Amazon India signs MoU to help rural women become entrepreneurs in K’taka

PTI, Feb 6, 2022, 10:57 AM IST

Amazon India on Saturday said the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Karnataka State Rural Livelihood Promotion Society (KSRLPS) to support the growth of women entrepreneurs. The MoU was signed and exchanged in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Minister of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood CN Ashwath Narayan.

Amazon India would launch Sanjeevini-KSRLPS in its marketplace and extend benefits of the ‘Saheli’ programme to train and empower thousands of women entrepreneurs to come online and access a wider market for their products, the company said in a press release. This association would 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, the release said.

Glad to inform that our govt has signed an MoU with @amazonIN for sale of products manufactured by our women SHGs. This will enable over 2.10 lakh SHGs to be brought under the National Rural livelihood Mission and empower lakhs of women to be #AatmaNirbhar
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/wGrAXp9OgY

— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) February 5, 2022

Amazon said Saheli 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 at no additional cost.

“One of the key priorities of our government is to establish a flourishing eco system for women entrepreneurs, especially from rural areas, and I would like to commend Amazon for their efforts and initiatives. Our association with Amazon will give wings to the dreams of women entrepreneurs and support our capacity-building initiatives for them,” Ashwath Narayan said. Stating that association with the Karnataka government is aligned with the commitment to digitally enable 10 million MSMEs by 2025, Sumit Sahay, Director (Selling Partner Services), Amazon India, said, “We will work with KSRLPS to bring the benefits of e-commerce to thousands of women entrepreneurs and SHGs and help them kickstart their journey as digital entrepreneurs.”