Amazon's first Digital Kendra launched in India; to bring MSMEs online

Ecommerce major Amazon has launched its first Digital Kendra -- a brick-and-mortar centre to bring micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) online -- in India. 

Located in Surat, Gujarat, the centre will serve as a facility dedicated to educating MSMEs about the benefits of ecommerce and providing them all necessary resources to start their journey of digital entrepreneurship. 

It was inaugurated by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani at virtual event on Thursday and will be serving thousands of MSMEs and traders in the region. 

Amazon said that MSMEs can visit its Digital Kendras to not only develop a better understanding of ecommerce and export markets but also to avail third party services such as shipping and logistics support, cataloging assistance, digital marketing services and GST and taxation support. 

The businesses would even get onboarding services to sign up as a seller on Amazon India or engage with other company programs such as Amazon Global Selling, Amazon Pay, Amazon Karigar, Amazon Saheli, and Amazon Easy. 

“This is an earnest endeavor to bring the right tools, support and services infrastructure closer to where MSMEs are based and help them benefit from ecommerce,” Amit Agarwal, senior vp and country head at Amazon India, said. 

“Amazon Digital Kendra will help MSMEs grow their business with adoption of technology and play an even more important role in the revival and growth of the Indian economy,” he added. 

The launch of Digital Kendra is a major step in Amazon’s endeavor to digitize MSMEs.  

Last year at its annual Smbhav event, the company had promised to digitally enable 10 million MSMEs between 2020 and 2025. It has already met 25% of the target. 

Beyond this, the ecommerce giant also aims to enable ecommerce exports worth $10 billion and create 1 million additional jobs during the same period.