Amazon inks 4 MoUs with HP govt

Amazon India on Thursday said it has signed four agreements with Himachal Pradesh government that will enable sellers, MSMEs, artisans and weavers from the state to benefit through online trade.

The four MoUs signed include tie-ups with HP State Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation Ltd (HIMCRAFTS) and, HP State Handlooms & Handicrafts Development Cooperative Federation (HIMBUNKAR) to enable handlooms sellers and artisans to sell on Amazon.in, a statement said.

Under the tie-up with HP Department of Industries, Amazon India will conduct trainings and on-boarding workshops at pre-identified product cluster locations of Baddi, Solan and Shimla in order to familiarise MSME Exporters with creating a seller account and listing their products on Amazon.com.

The MoU signed by Amazon with HP Department of Horticulture will empower community based organisations such as farmer producer organisations, cluster level federations and primary agriculture cooperative societies to benefit through e-commerce.

Amazon.in has close to 2,000 sellers in Himachal Pradesh, out of which close to 100 sellers export over 37,000 'Made in India' products across the world registering sales of over USD 33 million in 2019 through Amazon's Global Selling Programme, the statement said.

"We see a catalyst role for us in three key areas jobs, MSME empowerment and exports. Our four different MoUs signed with the Government of Himachal Pradesh will help us play a significant role in addressing those areas and empower the local community of women entrepreneurs, artisans and weavers, MSMEs and SMBs," Amazon India SVP and Country Manager Amit Agarwal said.