Amazon Digital Centres are brick and mortar resource centers that will provide information to MSMEs about the benefits of e-commerce and help them leverage third-party services such as logistics support, and shipping, digital marketing services, cataloging support, and taxation support.
Thursday Amazon India has launched its first digital center in Surat, Gujarat, as part of its commitment to digitize 10,00,000 Indian micro, small and medium enterprises by 2025.
Speaking at the launch, Amazon India Senior VP and Country Head Amit Agarwal said e-commerce was mostly an urban phenomenon when the company started its operations in the country in 2013.
“People will buy some products at selected events, and it won’t have to pay for shipping for ordinary people. He said, “Vendor Aadhaar was new to digital, they did not yet have the skills to go online and on the customer side, the majority were using mobile phones to access the Internet for the first time, and transactions are mainly cash.
Agarwal said the company has focused on enabling vendors to reach customers in India and globally, and has made significant investments in technology, logistics, distribution infrastructure, and digitizing payments, helping more customers and businesses come online collectively.
In 2020 January, former CEO, Amazon, Jeff Bezos announced an investment of $1 billion in India to help small and medium businesses online and committed to exports worth $10 billion of Indian-made goods by 2025.
He had said that the investment would also be used to digitize 10,0,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and traders across India, including manufacturers, resellers, local offline shops, and brands. Under this effort, Amazon was to set up 100 digital centers across India.
“Our digital centers are being launched in the first surat. Amazon Digital Centre brings several services to one place to help MSMEs start their journey as digital entrepreneurs”, Agarwal said.
Amazon, which competes with players like Flipkart and Reliance Industries’ JioMart, is ramping up its efforts to expand sellers’ base on its marketplace.
Interestingly, CCI, which monitors fair trade, has launched an investigation based on complaints alleging that Amazon and Flipkart promote select sellers on their marketplace platforms and deep discounts have suppressed competition.
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