Amazon Saheli: Fostering Female Entrepreneurship

Amazon’s efforts to enhance trading and promote the eCommerce sector in India have been immense over the last few years. The eCommerce sector saw a drastic change in this country when Amazon launched the ‘Amazon Saheli’ programme in 2017. It was a transformative initiative that allowed women entrepreneurs in tier one and tier two cities to sell their products on Amazon’s marketplace.

Does Amazon run the initiative alone, or have they partnered with other companies? So, Amazon doesn’t run the initiative alone. It has partnered with the Self-Employed Women Association (SEWA) and Impulse Social Enterprise to drive this programme and help women kick-start their entrepreneurial journey.

This blog will help you understand how Amazon Saheli promotes women’s entrepreneurship. Explore whether you’re eligible to participate in the programme and how Amazon Saheli can help you navigate different challenges.

Exploring Amazon Saheli: Empowering Women Through eCommerce

The Saheli Store is brought by Amazon to feature innovative and traditional products. It is a storefront solely dedicated to the betterment of the community. Saheli provides an opportunity for women entrepreneurs to succeed in life. As of March 2023, Amazon claims to have enabled more than two million women entrepreneurs across different pin codes in the country to leverage its eCommerce platform and give the rural economy the most required push.

Several women entrepreneurs across India make handcrafted office products, shoes, handbags, accessories, clothing, jewellery, home decor products, etc., which can now be sold on Amazon. This inspires women to become financially independent.

These products are the result of the combined efforts of seven potent NGOs around the country. They have become accessible to over 80,000 female artisans from every corner of the country. The Saheli storefront gives these artisans easy access to the Amazon marketplace and its logistical infrastructure.

The NGOs and other partners handhold women and organisations in this entrepreneurial journey through skill training, workshops and classes. This helps them manage their businesses over the Internet. Moreover, dedicated account managers are provided to these women to ensure a smooth kickstart of their businesses. The programme also gives their clients the tools to help save time on managing their online businesses and drive their energies to creativity and innovation.

SEWA’s Role in Amazon Saheli

SEWA, or the Self-Employed Women Association, is the primary collaborative body that Amazon has partnered up with to push the Saheli programme. The entire operation is headed by Reema Nanavati. She strongly says that the common thread of inspiring and empowering women was what made her take on the lead and this body is entirely committed to making this association work in favour of driving women to take part in this initiative. Moreover, she also says that Amazon and SEWA have their vision aligned in this respect and is more than certain that the association will help women reach their target audiences easily.

In just two years, they have been able to attract more than 1.5 lakh sellers online, and these numbers are still growing. 

Navigating Challenges: Overcoming Obstacles in the Programme

The Amazon Saheli programme is an extremely progressive initiative and possesses a growing mindset. However, despite the modest pace of its growth, there have been quite a few roadblocks. The challenges mainly revolve around the taxation and procedures established. The ability to sell in different locations requires them to adhere to different tax guidelines, making it quite challenging. Moreover, during the initial period, the team was required to strongly focus on making the application more user-friendly and easier for these women.

The other challenges encountered were mainly in bridging the gap between the product being made and the experience required by the end customer. Understanding the idea from two perspectives, one from the entrepreneur and the second from the buyer, and bringing these two ideas into harmony posed a great challenge.

Amazon Saheli does not cover every pin code in the country, and this makes it quite difficult to create demand. The programme ascertains that the coming years will be all about driving the momentum to greater heights to eliminate these challenges. A capability and development training to upskill these businesswomen is also being considered.

Empowering Partnerships: The Community Behind Amazon Saheli

Amazon Saheli has partnered up with many different groups like Tata Power, SEWA, National Urban, and many more to drive entrepreneurship in the lower strata of the country. These groups allow women to start their businesses and become financially independent and secure. They strive to give these women a large market reach and create more employment opportunities.

The joining forces of the above-said organisations help bridge the gap between local creators and Amazon Saheli. They understand the potential of these entrepreneurs and help them get on board the Saheli platform to kick-start their businesses. They facilitate all the needed help, like documentation and registration. The Saheli programme gives women entrepreneurs several advantages to help the sellers grow and establish their brands.

Unlocking the Advantages of Selling on Amazon Saheli

Saheli offers several benefits to motivate and inspire women to join this programme. These include:

• Subsidised referral charges: To help promote women-run businesses, Amazon has reduced the charges for sellers on its platform. This is especially done for those associated with the Saheli programme. The charges are capped at about 12% or even lower for a year, depending on the category of the product being sold. The programme partners work for the financial freedom of these entrepreneurs, and the minimised fee will encourage them to begin their businesses on this platform.
• Hands-on training: The Saheli programme helps women launch their businesses through hands-on training. It teaches them how to sell on the platform and manage their businesses. These sessions are conducted both online and offline.
• Support for account management: Account managers help guide newly launched sellers through the Amazon Marketplace. They handle the process for the first thirty days so the seller can become familiar with the platform and its workings.
• Cataloging and imaging: The programme also guides the joiners in understanding their product page and running it for the first phase. They help them with product information, specifications, photography of the product, and cataloging. This helps sellers set up and launch their pages according to Amazon’s standards.
• Marketing and advertising support: Several marketing and advertising tools and channels are provided by Amazon to promote handmade products and encourage the masses to buy more products that are made in the country. Digital ads, PR, influencer marketing, social media marketing, etc., are their other marketing tools.
• Enhanced visibility: The dedication by Amazon to drive the entrepreneurial spirit in women has helped in gaining customer attention and increasing sales. Sellers can also employ several marketing strategies like sponsored products, brands, and stores to gain greater visibility for their offerings.

Eligibility Criteria to Become Amazon Saheli Sellers

Selling on Amazon Saheli requires you to fall under one of these categories. These are:

• An already registered woman entrepreneur selling on Amazon
• An affiliated woman entrepreneur searching for an opportunity to sell on the platform

Joining the Movement: Steps to Become a Part of Amazon Saheli

Joining the Saheli programme is rather simple and the steps include:

• Application: You must fill in the necessary details on the application document and submit it. Amazon will reach out to you and let you know if you have fulfilled the criteria.
• Setting up your account and training: In case you are a new seller on the platform and are affiliated with Amazon partners, you will be provided an account manager to help you. You will also be given the necessary training for the first 30 business days.

Success Stories of Saheli Entrepreneurs

There are several success stories that are a result of the opportunities provided by Amazon Saheli. Here are some to inspire you to join this programme and begin your journey today:

• The story of Deepali Trivedi: 

The story of Deepali Trivedi is rather an emotional one. Being a single mother, Deepali started a start-up to support herself and her family. The start-up was called DeepArt, and she received her first order for handmade dreamcatchers and quilling frames. Deepali says that the moment was extremely overwhelming, and her business is presently a one-woman show. Deepali was very young when her husband fled to Africa abandoning her and their family. To support her family, she began practicing as a lawyer and then shifted to teaching over the years. Her career was substantially affected during the COVID-19 pandemic and came to a halt when she suffered from tuberculosis. That is when she began indulging in crafts and arts. Deepali highlights that the manager assigned by Amazon post securing herself a GST number was largely helpful in her entrepreneurial journey. She is extremely grateful for the love and support she received from the Saheli team.

• The heartwarming and inspiring tale of Reshma Krishnan and Manali Adani:

These two friends faced similar currents of financial burden and were strongly looking for independence. Through Saheli, Reshma and Manali began their entrepreneurial journey to better menstrual hygiene for women. It is a noble cause indeed. Through the inception of GreenHack during the pandemic, they were able to easily afford and curate a range of panty liners, sanitary napkins, tampons, and more to ensure female menstrual hygiene. This power duo is extremely hopeful to accelerate their business in the coming days.

Conclusion

Amazon Saheli is a brilliant initiative by Amazon to help women in the lower strata of the country become financially independent. It helps women entrepreneurs and the end customs come together. This programme is powered by several NGOs and other companies like Tata Power, who believe in helping women to become financially independent. Saheli provides assistance and training during the initial days, making handling the business for new entrepreneurs more easy. Selling products on their marketplace exposes the entrepreneurs to several clients and buyers, creating greater demands for their products and increasing their revenue. Amazon provides both online and offline assistance to these women to help them kickstart their entrepreneurial journeys.