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Small and medium businesses (SMBs) are a key growth driver for India’s economy. According to the 2020 Amazon SMB Impact Report, India, nearly 30 percent of SMBs contribute to India’s GDP by generating jobs for more than 130 million people in the country.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns sent the economy into a tailspin, small businesses were hit hard. While production and distribution came to a halt, the migrant workforce headed home , customers changed their buying habits, social distancing became the norm, and thousands of physical stores had to be shut down. The priority for small businesses owners was immediate survival and future-proofing their business for long-term sustainability.

The biggest lesson that they learnt from the pandemic was that technology adoption was no longer limited to big corporations, but was now touching the lives of every individual and operations of every business in the world. Over the past year, India witnessed a spike in digital adoption, with e-commerce players playing a crucial role in bridging gaps between the demand and supply of goods and enabled small businesses to reach their customers across geographies.

Given the tough circumstances that are accompanying the new normal, SMBs can weather the storm if they’re willing to adopt disruptive solutions and move towards a digital transformation. From the Internet of Things to artificial intelligence, they can leverage leading technologies to create digital storefronts, update customers in real-time , integrate digital payments into their business, and do much more.

Small businesses are now taking help from e-commerce companies and tech-based startups to scale up in the wake of the pandemic. From assisting kirana stores in delivering groceries through online channels to facilitating the launch of e-stores, they are providing various kinds of digital services and ease the digital transformation for MSMEs.

At Amazon, supporting SMBs has always been a fundamental part of the company’s work and an extension of their customer-centric culture.

According to the report, over 1.5 lakh new businesses chose to go digital this year with Amazon.in, of which more than 1 lakh joined during the pandemic. Also, over 10 lakh micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses including sellers, content creators and developers work with Amazon in India.

From Amazon Business, Amazon Easy, Delivery Service Partner (DSP) to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Amazon Web Services and several other initiatives, Amazon is empowering small businesses by helping them shift their business operations to an online platform. While there’s no perfect playbook on how to respond to the unprecedented challenges faced by SMBs, Amazon is continually exploring new ways to help them hit new milestones in their growth journey.

To know more about how Amazon is helping thousands of SMBs, startups, customers and partners digitise their business, check out the 2020 Amazon SMB Impact Report, India.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE