While it is a matter of great pride that India is home to as many as 15.7 million women owned enterprises that employ about 22-25 million people, there is still long way to go. Most people will agree that there is still plenty of scope to do more to truly unlock entrepreneurship among women in India.

With this mind, Amazon.in is collaborating with UN Women to mark International Women’s Day with the launch of a special IWD storefront. The objective is to celebrate women-led small and medium businesses and highlight the stories of women entrepreneurs who are challenging the status quo the breaking stereotypes.

The special storefront will feature close to 80K products from 450+ women-owned small businesses across various categories including eco-friendly products, healthy snacks, handmade crafts etc. Susan Ferguson, Country Representative, UN Women India inaugurated the IWD storefront at a virtual event in the presence of Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles, Government of India. The virtual event was themed on “Challenge. Champion. Change.”

Witnessing the success of women entrepreneurs on Amazon makes me hopeful about the enormous opportunities there are for women in the online world.”
Susan Ferguson, Country Representative, UN Women India

Speaking at the event, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani reinforced the important role that women led businesses are playing in India's journey of becoming AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

Susan Ferguson, Country Representative, UN Women India, said, “We acknowledge the challenges women entrepreneurs across the country have overcome to support themselves and their families through e-commerce. Amazon has an important part to play in helping women become financially independent. Witnessing the success of women entrepreneurs on Amazon makes me hopeful about the enormous opportunities there are for women in the online world.”

“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,” added Amit Agarwal, SVP & Country Head, Amazon India.

For each order placed from the IWD storefront, on 8th March, Amazon will contribute INR 25 towards sponsoring girl child education, in partnership with our NGO partner, Nanhi Kali. Also, in partnership with UN Women, Amazon has launches limited edition bookmarks featuring real stories of women entrepreneurs who “challenge, champion, change”. Books purchased on Amazon will carry these limited-edition bookmarks throughout the month of March’21.

Over the years, Amazon India has introduced several initiatives to promote the growth of women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses across the country. One great example is Amazon Saheli, a pioneering program that offers extensive training and skill development workshops. Launched in November 2017, the program helps women entrepreneurs understand the nuances of online selling and develop skills and capabilities necessary to grow their business on Amazon.in. Over 280,000 women, entrepreneurs are likely to be positively impacted by the program.

Also, Amazon has launched all-women delivery stations in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to create more opportunities for women and enable their success in the logistics sector. Similarly, Amazon Launchpad, a unique program for startup or an emerging brands in India has benefited over 100 women led startups.

Amazon hopes to continue to empower more women entrepreneurs both from urban and rural markets, and provide new opportunities for growth.