Amazon India partners with UN Women to launch storefront for women sellers 

Source: Reuters

Amazon India on March 5 partnered with UN Women to launch a special storefront for women-owned small businesses ahead of the International Women's Day.

The storefront  will offer over 80,000 unique products, including selection like organic items, handmade crafts, healthy snacks, among other things. Over 450 women-led businesses and over 280,000 women entrepreneurs and artisans from Amazon Saheli are likely to be benefited from the launch of this storefront.

"It is inspiring to see how women entrepreneurs across the country are leveraging digitization, e-commerce in particular, to create products customers love and build scalable businesses that have a meaningful impact on society. We are humbled to be a catalyst in their journey, and committed to enable global access to customers as they unlock their potential in a digital India," said Amit Agarwal, SVP and Country Head, Amazon India.

Women-owned enterprises have increased penetration among enterprises in India.

Minister for Women and Child Development and Textiles, Smriti Zubin Irani who was also present at the virtual launch of the storefront, said out of 41,000 startups in India, 44 percent of them are women, reinforcing the role that women-led businesses are playing in India.

Amazon India has introduced several initiatives to promote women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses across the country. Launched in November 2017, Amazon Saheli offers training and skill development workshops to help women entrepreneurs understand the nuances of online selling and develop skills and capabilities to grow their businesses.

This happens even as lakhs of traders in India are crying foul and asking the US-headquartered company to "back-off" amid a disputed deal.

Amazon and India's leading retailer Future Group are locked in a legal dispute over the sale of the Indian company’s retail, logistics and warehousing assets to Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), a unit of Reliance Industries, for Rs 24,713 crore. The Future group had agreed to the sale in August 2020.

However, Amazon, an unlisted company that owns a 49 percent stake in Future Coupons, has challenged the Future Group-Reliance Retail deal, claiming it did not consent to such a transaction.  It said the deal breached some existing agreements, claims denied by the Future group.

Earlier this week, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPD) and Public Response Against Helplessness and Action for Redressal, an NGO asked Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon to either pay off their dues amounting to Rs 6,000 crore which was pending with the Future Group since March 2020. Else, not block the Reliance Retail and Future Group deal.

The two groups represent more than nearly 10 lakh distributors, stockists and suppliers of FMCG goods across India.