Amazon.in today announced the launch of its much anticipated global program – Amazon Launchpad in India. This program will make it easy for Indian Startups to launch, market, and distribute their products to millions of Amazon customers across India and around the world through a dedicated store.
Amazon Launchpad has tied up with various partners operating in the ecosystem, such as DIPP’s Start Up India initiative and will offer Startups a streamlined on-boarding experience, access to custom product pages with unique content, marketing support to aid product discovery, and access to Amazon’s global customer base & fulfilment network, all geared toward helping Startups scale up their businesses and successfully launch their innovative products. With this unique program, Indian Startups can overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products.
The new Amazon Launchpad store on Amazon.in features over 400 innovative products ranging from Wearable Technology, Smart Homes, Food & Beverage, Health monitoring, Educational Toys & more. Even before its launch, over 25 Indian Startups have already joined the program and are looking forward to leverage Amazon’s marketplace expertise and infrastructure to create awareness and drive sale. Featured Indian Startups include Witworks, Leaf Wearables, Ducere Technologies, Seventh Sense Technologies among others
Amit Agarwal, VP and Country Head, Amazon India said, “Amazon has always encouraged and supported innovation. By bringing Amazon Launchpad to India, we are excited to support the Government’s ‘Start-up India’ initiative and encourage innovation from the Indian start-up community. India has great minds which invent amazing products and we will support their growth by helping customers discover their new products not just in India but other countries around the world. We hope that Amazon Launchpad has a positive impact on the economy by further promoting ‘Make in India, adding further impetus to the current interest in Indian Startups and also creating additional employment opportunities.”
Commenting of the launch, Jason Feldman, Director Global Innovations, Amazon said, “Amazon Launchpad is an exceptional opportunity for Indian Startups to get access to big consumer markets nationally and internationally. Through this program small entrepreneurs and innovators can go leverage the Amazon platform to increase the scale of their businesses and even get easy access to global markets. With Launchpad, we hope to augment the innovation culture in the Indian youth and help build the India story”.
Globally, Amazon Launchpad works with more than 100 venture capital firms, crowd-funding services, and accelerators/incubators. In India, Amazon.in has partnered with Startup India, NASSCOM 10,000 Startups and Indian Angel Network (IAN), amongst others, to help identify and enrol Startups from their network/portfolio. Amazon.in has also roped in a few strategic partners such as NITI Aayog, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Telangana and TiE. Any startup that is interested in participating in Amazon Launchpad can apply online through the application page. If a startup is not supported by the current partner network, the application shall be evaluated by Amazon.in for the startup’s fitment to the program.
Startups interested in joining Amazon Launchpad may come from any part of the country. They need to have a promising, unique and ready-to-ship product compliant with Amazon policies in order to get listed on the store. Launchpad products and Startup Application Form that can be accessed on www.amazon.in/launchpad
“NASSCOM is very excited to support and partner with the Amazon Launchpad program in India – the timing couldn’t have been better- the nascent but promising Indian hardware/IoT product ecosystem can now fully leverage the firepower of Amazon’s distribution and marketing capabilities.” says Dr. R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM
According to Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary DIPP, Government of India “In line with the Hon’ble PM’s vision, the government is keen to promote Startups in India to bolster entrepreneurship and innovation. We want to build a conducive environment so that robust and innovative Startups mushroom from India. India has so much of talent and energy, and the opportunity to support Startups is such a fantastic one. We welcome Amazon’s new program, Amazon Launchpad which complements the vision of our Startup India initiative which is to nurture innovation and Startups for sustainable economic growth and large scale job creation. We expect Amazon’s Launchpad program to greatly boost the morale of young entrepreneurs and make them successful.”
Companies that are part of Amazon Launchpad will receive the following benefits:
- Brand Development: Custom product pages in the new Amazon Launchpad store showcase unique content that helps bring a startup’s brand and products to life through photography and video. A dedicated Q&A section allows founders a chance to tell their story and connect with customers in a more personal and engaging way.
- Customer Reach: Amazon’s most powerful marketing tools – including on-site merchandise placements, personalized recommendations, external program PR, and access to advertising – give products added visibility.
- World-class Fulfilment: Startups also enjoy access to Amazon India’s fulfilment network and fast, unlimited shipping with Amazon Prime, along with exceptional customer service.
- Global Expansion: When Startups are ready to reach customers outside India, Amazon Launchpad can help them expand globally to nine Amazon marketplaces around the world.
“The biggest roadblock for a hardware startup is not product development but finding early adopters for its product. Amazon Launchpad is just the right platform to find them. We can expect this to be a game changer for India’s hardware startup ecosystem” – Paras Batra, Director Sales & Marketing, Leaf Wearables
“Amazon Launchpad is a great enabler for commercializing hardware innovations. Startups get to showcase cool new gadgets and get to retail quicker. Perfect channel to take our portfolio startups from ‘Build to Scale’ ” – Avinash Kaushik, Founder & Director, Revvx Hardware Accelerator
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