Amazon Aims to Digitize 10 Million Indian Small Businesses by 2025
- ByStartupStory | June 6, 2023
Amazon India, the leading e-commerce player, has set an ambitious goal to digitize 10 million small businesses across India, generate 2 million direct and indirect jobs, and facilitate $20 billion in cumulative exports by 2025, as stated by Manish Tiwary, the Country Manager for Amazon India’s Consumer Business. Tiwary highlighted these objectives during his keynote address at the ETRetail.com E-commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2022 in Bengaluru. The focus areas that Amazon is determined to work on include the digital transformation of small businesses, fostering increased employment opportunities, and driving growth in India’s exports.
“We want to digitize 10 million small businesses across the country by 2025. We are roughly at 4.1 million right now,” said Tiwary.
Manish Tiwary emphasized that the process of digitization does not restrict sellers to solely selling on Amazon; they should also establish a presence on other online marketplaces. He highlighted that as more businesses embrace digitization, the momentum continues to build, benefiting all stakeholders involved. Amazon India is not only focused on digitizing small businesses but also strives to make a significant impact on employment. Tiwary noted that Amazon India presently employs over 100,000 individuals directly. Looking ahead to 2025, the company has set a target of creating 2 million direct and indirect jobs in the country.
Exports constitute the third key focus area for Amazon, aiming to achieve a cumulative export value of $20 billion by 2025, as highlighted by Tiwary. He further emphasized that growth in these areas would have a positive impact on small businesses and MSMEs. Tiwary also shed light on the assistance provided by Amazon to sellers, highlighting that the registration process for the company’s global selling program takes only six minutes. Once registered, sellers’ listings are showcased in target countries, with Amazon managing all logistics aspects on their behalf.
“Amazon and other ecommerce companies are giving a chance to every entrepreneur to realize their dreams,” commented Tiwary. In the past nine years, Amazon has accomplished significant milestones, including an impressive seller base of over 1.1 million, a vast customer network, a robust community of Prime members, and extensive warehousing infrastructure encompassing 43 million cubic feet of space across 15 states. Additionally, the company operates sorting centers in 19 states, with a processing area spanning nearly 2.3 million square feet. These achievements reflect Amazon’s substantial presence and growth in the e-commerce landscape.
He further added that today consumers from any part of the country can shop in seven different languages on Amazon. “80 percent of our new customers come from small towns and most of them use the app in their local languages,” Tiwary said, adding that on the seller’s side, more than half of Amazon sellers come from small places.
Talking about e-commerce growth in India, Tiwary said, “Today in any pincode of the country, consumers can order millions of unique products. This is how far e-commerce has come.”
Manish Tiwary addressed the apprehensions surrounding the impact of e-commerce and organized commerce on small retailers. He emphasized that small retailers continue to thrive due to their capacity for innovation and resilience in navigating market fluctuations. Tiwary highlighted Amazon’s role in driving digital adoption in India and fostering innovation among small retailers over the past few decades. The company has played a pivotal role in supporting their growth and success.
In his remarks, Manish Tiwary dismissed the theoretical debate of offline versus online, asserting that these are simply different channels utilized by brand owners and distributors to reach consumers. Tiwary further shared statistics, stating that the current e-commerce industry in India is valued at $70 billion.
According to a NASSCOM report, the industry is projected to reach a value of nearly $350 billion by 2030, driven by the adoption of omni-channel strategies. These insights underscore the immense growth potential and significance of embracing multiple channels in the evolving retail landscape.
He noted that the pandemic has expedited the adoption of online shopping, digital payments, food delivery, and OTT platforms by almost a decade. What would have typically taken 10 years to achieve in terms of expanding reach
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