Amazon India has announced the launch of the ‘Spotlight North East‘ storefront on its marketplace. The storefront will enhance visibility of unique local products and hidden gems from the region and showcase them to millions of Amazon customers across India, a statement said.
Customers will be able to discover unique products from the region such as Chakshesang Shawls from Nagaland, Muga Silk from Assam, different types of weaves like the Moirang Phee from Manipur, varieties of teas and spices like the Mizo Chilli, amongst others, it added.
Amazon India had announced the launch of ‘Spotlight North East’ programme in April during its Smbhav event.
The programme aims to bring 50,000 local artisans, weavers, and small businesses from North East region online by 2025, and boost exports of key commodities like tea, spices and honey from the region.
Amazon will also enable the participation of artisans and weavers from the region in key sale events through the year and help generate demand for their products from customers across the country, the statement said.
The Spotlight North East programme has been designed to boost the local economy, create jobs, and accelerate financial inclusion and empowerment of women across the eight states of the North East region of the country, it added.
“We are excited to launch a dedicated Spotlight North East storefront on Amazon.in showcasing region’s unique handicrafts, handlooms, and GI products to customers across India. This is part of the Spotlight North East programme announced recently at Amazon Smbhav 2021 and is aimed at enabling MSMEs like artisans, weavers, local shops from the region with technology and ecommerce to reach customers across India and the world,” Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India said.
He added that the company is fully committed to support the Indian government’s endeavour to turn the North Eastern states into a commercial hub that provides unique ‘Made in India’ products representing rich, diverse culture.
The initiative will accelerate digitisation in the region and provide an opportunity for local businesses to leverage e-commerce.
Over the next five years, Amazon will bring more than 5,000 unique craft-based products, Geographical Indication (GI) products and other local products on its India marketplace and boost exports of special commodities from North East like tea, honey, and spices etc to millions of customers globally.
“One of the key priorities for our government is to establish North East as an important business destination in Indian subcontinent…This will positively contribute to the fulfillment of this vision by boosting sales and exports of exclusive commodities of the North East, helping turn this region into a commercial hub for introducing the world to ‘Made-in-India’ products,” Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
Amazon has partnered with NEHHDC (North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation) to engage, skill, and digitally enable artisan and weaver communities in the eight states across the region and bring to them the benefits of the Amazon Karigar programme.
“The exclusive Store on Amazon Karigar will help the products made by the artisans and weavers of North East to reach millions of Amazon customers. We believe that our partnership with Amazon.in will not only promote entrepreneurship but also build awareness about the rich heritage of north-east handloom and handicrafts, Brig R K Singh (Retd), Managing Director of NEHHDC, said.
