Amazon launches special store 'Saheli' for women entrepreneurs

Aims to empower and enable women entrepreneurs across the country to sell their products on its marketplace

American online retailer Amazon has launched a new programme — Amazon Saheli — aimed at empowering and enabling women entrepreneurs across the country to sell their products on its marketplace.

Amazon India has collaborated with organisations that work with towards encouraging women entrepreneurship, including Sewa (Self-employed Women's Association) and Impulse Social Enterprise.

Women entrepreneurs associated with these partner organisations will be able to offer their products to Amazon.in customers through a dedicated storefront, 'the Saheli Store', Amazon said in a statement today.

"As a part of our commitment to transform how India buys and sells by enabling small entrepreneurs to scale up, we've now focused on the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs here to gain visibility and access to resources," Gopal Pillai, director and general manager, seller services, at Amazon India was quoted as saying in a statement.

The company had earlier this year conducted a pilot for the store in Nagaland earlier this year in association with NSDC and the state government. Around 50 independent women entrepreneurs attended the workshop for two days.

Initially comprising handicrafts, apparel, handbags and home decor items, the Saheli Store will gradually scale up to onboard women entrepreneurs selling in different product categories, it added.

Besides offering the registered women entrepreneurs access to customers, the store will help them gain access to logistics and fulfilment facilities as well.

"Promoting entrepreneurship among women has become a key focus area for companies everywhere. E-commerce and specifically the e-marketplace model is a great avenue for women entrepreneurs to benefit from a fast-growing digital economy," Jay Carney, senior vice-president, global corporate affairs at Amazon said.