Amazon Launches ‘Amazon Saheli’ Store To Sell And Promote Products Made By Women Entrepreneurs 

Amazon Saheli is a program that works to encourage women entrepreneurship, the program is in line with Amazon India’s vision to transform the way India sells.

Written by: India.com Business Desk

Updated: November 29, 2017, 1:23 PM IST

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https://www.india.com/business/amazon-launches-amazon-saheli-store-to-sell-and-promote-products-made-by-women-entrepreneurs-2691456/ Copy

Amazon Saheli

New Delhi, November 29: With an aim to empower and enable women entrepreneurs across the country to sell their products, Amazon India on Tuesday announced the launch of Amazon Saheli. Amazon India has tied up with Self Employed Women Association (SEWA) and Impulse Social Enterprise for sourcing and offering products through ‘Amazon Saheli’ initiative. Amazon Saheli is a program that works to encourage women entrepreneurship, the program is in line with Amazon India’s vision to transform the way India sells.

Over 350 products produced by women will be made available on Amazon.in online store under the Amazon Saheli initiative.  Amazon Saheli, in collaboration with its partner organizations, will offer women entrepreneurs’ access to nationwide customers on the Amazon India marketplace, the most visited and transacted marketplace in India.  Amazon has been working to empower women entrepreneurs and has done a pilot project successfully in Nagaland. The online marketplace has launched Saheli officially on the occasion of GES 2017, which is centred on the theme of ‘Women First Prosperity For All’.

What kind of products can customers expect from the Saheli store?

The Saheli store features unique products produced locally by regional women entrepreneurs across the country. This would majorly comprise of handicrafts, Apparels, Handbags, Home décor and kitchen items. These items are sold directly by the women entrepreneurs through Amazon Saheli program.

How will women benefit from Amazon Saheli:

1. Thousands of women entrepreneurs associated with these partner organisations will be able to offer their products to Amazon.in customers through a dedicated storefront, ‘The Saheli Store’.
2. The store will feature unique products produced locally by these women entrepreneurs. Initially comprising handicrafts, apparel, handbags and home décor items, the store will gradually scale up to on-board women entrepreneurs selling in different product categories.
3. Besides offering the registered women entrepreneurs an unparalleled reach to customers, Amazon Saheli will help them gain world-class logistics and fulfilment facilities to help their businesses soar.
4. Women entrepreneurs under the program will be able to enjoy a slew of benefits such as subsidized referral fees, free imaging & cataloguing during launch, account management & post-launch support and enhanced discoverability & differentiation of products through specialized storefronts.

Gopal Pillai, Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India said, “As a part of our commitment to transform how India buys and sells by enabling small entrepreneurs to scale up, we have now focused on the challenges faced by Indian women entrepreneurs to gain visibility and access to resources. E-commerce is an important enabler for small businesses offering tremendous opportunities to women entrepreneurs to benefit from the digital economy. We are delighted to join hands with partner organisations such as SEWA and Impulse for Social Cause that has done remarkable work to aid marginalized women entrepreneurs and help them scale up for a multiplier impact. Through Amazon Saheli we aim to bring a change in the lives of thousands of women entrepreneurs with the help of our partners.”

Amazon Saheli

Speaking on the initiative, Reema Nanavati who leads SEWA said, “We at SEWA believe in young women’s’ entrepreneurship using e-commerce. With minimal cost, e-commerce gives you reach to newer markets nationally and internationally! It builds economic security, brings dignity and self-respect to young women entrepreneurs. SEWA is happy to partner with Amazon which share the same vision to not only provide women entrepreneurs access to millions of new customers and become economically secured and will generate employment opportunities for many more young women. “

Commenting on the launch of the program, Jay Carney, Senior Vice President – Global Corporate Affairs, Amazon Inc. said, “Promoting entrepreneurship among women has become a key focus area for companies everywhere – globally and in India. E-commerce and specifically the e-marketplace model is a great avenue for women entrepreneurs to benefit from the fast-growing digital economy. We are very encouraged by the creativity and drive we see among India’s women entrepreneurs and are excited to see how Saheli can inspire their innovative spirit.”

Amazon Saheli will be conducting extensive training and skill development workshops to help women entrepreneurs understand nuances related to online selling and, develop skills & capabilities necessary to grow their business on Amazon.in. The training workshops will comprise of sessions on the listing of products, imaging & cataloging, packaging & shipping, inventory & account management and customer service to name a few. The workshops will be free of cost and will offer several exclusive benefits including assisted onboarding and mentorship programs. The program will subsequently be expanded to empower women through other programs offered by Amazon India like ATES (Amazon Trained E-commerce Specialists), SPN (Service Provider Network), IHS (I Have Space) and Udaan.