Ahead of International Women’s Day, Amazon.in collaborates with UN Women to launch a special IWD storefront with a selection of products made available by women-owned businesses. Susan Ferguson, Country Representative, UN Women India inaugurated the IWD storefront at a virtual event in the presence of Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon’ble Union Minister for Women & Child Development and Textiles, Government of India. The IWD storefront will help customers discover and purchase from close to 80K unique products including selection like organic products, handmade crafts, healthy snacks etc. Over 450 women-led businesses and over 280,000 women entrepreneurs & artisans from Amazon Saheli are likely to be benefited from the launch of the special IWD storefront. The virtual event was themed on “Challenge. Champion. Change.”

This launch is in line with Amazon’s efforts to celebrate and support women-led small businesses and women entrepreneurs, who are breaking barriers, challenging stereotypes, and championing for driving a positive change towards an equal and an inclusive society. The storefront will also feature innovative and unique collection in categories like innovative toys, natural wellness, personal care etc. from women-led start-ups associated with Amazon Launchpad and products from offline local shops run by women.

At the launch event, Smriti gave a salutation to the 6 million women who are at the frontline of managing COVID-19 pandemic. Further, she reinforced the important role that women led businesses are playing in India's journey of becoming AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

“UN Women is celebrating the leadership of women during IWD 2021. We acknowledge the challenges women entrepreneurs across the country have overcome to support themselves and their families through e-commerce. Amazon has an important part to play in helping women become financially independent. Witnessing the success of women entrepreneurs on Amazon makes me hopeful about the enormous opportunities there are for women in the online world,” said Susan Ferguson, Country Representative, UN Women India

Amit Agarwal, SVP & Country Head, Amazon India said, “It is inspiring to see how women entrepreneurs across the country are leveraging digitization, e-commerce in particular, to create products customers love and build scalable businesses that have a meaningful impact on society. We are humbled to be a catalyst in their journey, and committed to enable global access to customers as they unlock their potential in a Digital India.”

As part of the launch, to encourage customers to support women-led small businesses by shopping from them on Amazon.in, for every purchase made on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2021), Amazon will contribute INR 25 to directly sponsor girl child education. This will be in partnership with the NGO, Nanhi Kali. In addition, to mark International Women’s Day in India, Amazon today unveiled limited-edition bookmarks that feature stories of real women entrepreneurs. Books purchased on Amazon will carry these limited-edition bookmarks throughout the month of March’21.

Amazon India has introduced several initiatives to promote the growth of women entrepreneurs and women-owned businesses across the country. Launched in November 2017, Amazon Saheli is a pioneering program that offers extensive training and skill development workshops to help women entrepreneurs understand the nuances of online selling and develop skills and capabilities necessary to grow their business on Amazon.in. Over 280,000 women, entrepreneurs are likely to be positively impacted by the program. Also, Amazon has launched all-women delivery stations in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu to create more opportunities for women and enable their success in the logistics sector.