Amazon India partners with Government of Karnataka to help local start-ups sell online under its Launchpad program

In line with its vision to transform the way India buys & sells, Amazon India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS) at ‘ELEVATE100’ event held today in Bangalore. As part of the alliance, Amazon India will work with KBITS to educate, train & enable select start-ups to sell their products to Amazon customers across the country under its Launchpad program. Amazon Launchpad, the company’s flagship program dedicated to promote innovative products backed by technological excellence, makes it easy for Indian startups to launch, market, and distribute their products to millions of Amazon customers across India and around the world through a dedicated store.

The Government of Karnataka has operationalized a dedicated ‘Karnataka Startup Cell’ as a one-stop shop to provide assistance to startups with respect to information on regulatory environment, networking with industry bodies and academic institutions. The Start-up Cell, operated by KBITS, provides the ‘Startup Karnataka Booster Kit’ – a collection of software tools and services provided by a ‘Booster Kit Service Provider’ which enables start-ups to avail enhanced marketing support and showcase their innovative products to the customers.

As part of this alliance, Amazon Launchpad as a ‘Booster Kit Service Provider’, shall provide a dedicated storefront on www.amazon.in and other services to all the shortlisted product start-ups including periodic support and services in improving their presence on the marketplace, generating demand for their products, and guiding them towards sustainable business growth under the program.  KBITS will share a database of product start-ups registered with the Karnataka Start-up Cell with the Launchpad team on a monthly and quarterly basis to help start-ups leverage Amazon’s world-class e-commerce expertise, global infrastructure, and powerful marketing tools to help them deliver their products to millions of Amazon customers.

Sharing his views on the MoU, Mr. Priyank Kharge, Minister for IT, BT and Tourism, Government of Karnataka said “We are extremely glad to partner with Amazon India for providing a platform for start-ups to enter the booming space of e-commerce. With their rich experience and deep understanding of consumers, Amazon Launchpad program can really make a difference in facilitating these talented start-ups take advantage of the growing digital economy and e-commerce. This initiative will help the start-ups in showcasing their product which will be available to the massive Amazon customer base across the country. We expect Amazon’s Launchpad program to greatly boost the morale of young entrepreneurs and make them successful.”

Manish Tiwary, Vice-President, Category Management, Amazon India, added, “Amazon Launchpad is an exceptional opportunity for Indian Startups to get access to a nationwide customer base. Through this program individual entrepreneurs, innovators and creators from across Karnataka can leverage the Amazon marketplace to increase the scale of their business and even get easy access to global markets. We are excited to partner with the Government of Karnataka to encourage innovation from the Indian start-up community and guide start-ups towards sustainable business growth”.

In the past, Amazon Launchpad has tied up with various partners operating in the ecosystem, such as DIPP’s Start Up India initiative to offer Startups a streamlined on-boarding experience, access to custom product pages with unique content, marketing support to aid product discovery, and access to Amazon’s customer base & fulfilment network, all geared toward helping Startups scale up their businesses and successfully launch their innovative products.

Under this program, Amazon offers services of inventory management, order fulfilment, customer service and more for start-ups, allowing them to focus their efforts on the innovation that results in more products that customers will love. Startups that have developed a unique and innovative consumer products qualify for Amazon Launchpad. The products have to be from a category Amazon.in currently operates in (except for books & media) and they should be ready for shipping on the day of the application, or the following 30 days.