Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in India: Amazon’s $1 billion gift to SMEs to help small businesses step into digital era

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos India Visit: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Wednesday announced a bonanza for India’s small and medium businesses, which could help local entrepreneurs step up their digital presence and broaden market opportunities. Jeff Bezos, on a visit to India, said at an event that e-commerce giant Amazon will invest $1 billion to help digitise Indian SMEs. “21st century will be Indian century and the biggest alliance between India and the US,” said Jeff Bezos. However, Bezos did not mention any timeline for this investment. The company has so far invested $5.5 billion in the country.

Jeff Bezos’ three-day visit to India is marked with protests from sellers on its platform, which have complained about Amazon’s anti-competitive pricing practices. India’s competition regulator has opened a probe into Amazon’s selling practices, following the complaints. However, Jeff Bezos sought to assure the protesting sellers, by saying that Amazon will help take their goods to global customers. The company will help export $10 billion worth of goods made by Indian SMEs by 2025, he said. Amazon’s support to Indian exporters would support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme.