Amazon's accelerator programme to support 50 Indian D2C startups

Amazon Global Selling Propel Startup Accelerator (Propel S3) is a key part of the e-commerce giant's commitment to enabling $20 billion in e-commerce exports from India by 2025

E-commerce giant Amazon India has launched the third season of Amazon Global Selling Propel Startup Accelerator (Propel S3). The initiative is designed to provide dedicated support to emerging Indian brands and startups to reach customers around the world. The Propel S3 will support up to 50 D2C (direct-to-consumer) startups launch in international markets and create global brands from India. 

“In the first two seasons, we saw great interest, ideas and entrepreneurial spirit with more than 1500 startups applying for the program,” said Bhupen Wakankar, Director Global Trade at Amazon India. “The season 3 is bigger and better with expanded range of benefits and support to help 50 startups from India launch in global markets this year. This program is a key part of our commitment to enable $20 billion in e-commerce exports from India by 2025.”

The program offers participants a chance to win total rewards worth over $1.5 million including AWS Activate credits, ads credits as well as logistics and account management support for one year. The top 3 winners will also get a combined $100,000 in equity free grant. Amazon will also help participating startups connect with Revenue-based-financing firms including Klub and Velocity who will provide curated offers to the participating startups to expand their business at scale. 

The applications for the program open today and will close on April 30, 2023. It will culminate in a demo-day where participants will get a chance to pitch their business propositions to leading VC firms and get a shot at funding to expand their operations.

 As part of the Propel S3, Amazon has constituted a mentorship board consisting of Amazon leaders from India and across the world, VC partners and senior industry leaders. They will engage with emerging brands and provide them tailored resources, 1:1 mentorship and workshops on the global demand patterns and insights on building successful exports business through ecommerce. Amazon will also host sessions focused on peer learning by inviting veteran entrepreneurs and Propel Alumni to help participating startups network and learn from their existing ecosystem.

 “The program helped us interact with Amazon leaders and other experts which was critical in planning our international expansion,” said Udit Sood, Co-Founder EcoRight – one of the winners of Propel Accelerator Season 2. “After winning the season 2, we have set up operations in more than 10 countries with Amazon and are managing it seamlessly sitting in India.”

There are now more than 1 lakh exporters across India on Amazon Global Selling program. They are showcasing millions of Made in India products to customers in over 200 countries and territories across the world. Indian MSMEs exporting through the program have surpassed $5 billion in cumulative sales till now. Amazon has pledged to enable $20 billion in cumulative exports from India by 2025.

Over the last nine years, merchandise exports from India have hovered around $260-330 billion, with the highest ever being $330 billion in 2018-19. The government has set up a target of $1 trillion in 2027-28 for merchandise exports and $500 billion in exports in the next two years.