Amazon plays mentor to startups, rolls out global programme 'Launchpad' in India

E-commerce giant Amazon has  rolled out its global programme 'Launchpad' in India to provide startups in the country a platform to market, sell and deliver products across the globe.

India is the seventh country where Amazon Launchpad has been made available, and the platform, "tailormade" for startups, is available for a fee of Rs 5,000 a month.

Launchpad is already available in the US, UK, China, Germany, France and Mexico.

Through the Launchpad page startups and entrepreneurs can sell products on a global scale, overcoming general marketplace challenges like requirements of large investments to get noticed and loss of margins in channels, the company said.

Amazon Launchpad will offer startups and small enterprises access to custom pages where sellers can showcase their products through photos and videos, marketing support to help product discovery, and access to Amazon's global customer base.

It has tied up with various partners including DIPP's (Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion) Start Up India initiative, Nasscom 10,000 startups and Indian Angel Network.

"India is a unique place...The connection to the startup community is rich in India...As a startup comes to us, we will help them launch not just in India but also get access to global markets spanning the US, UK, France, Germany," Jason Feldman, Director Global Innovations, Amazon said at a conference here.

The Launchpad store on Amazon.In has over 400 products ranging from wearable technology, smart homes, food and beverages, health monitoring and educational toys among others.

Over 25 Indian startups including Witworks, Leaf Wearables, Ducere Technologies, and Seventh Sense Technologies, have already joined the programme, the company said.