Amazon Saheli is a collaborative initiative by Amazon and various groups like Sewa, the National urban livelihood mission, Tata power, etc., to promote women entrepreneurship in India. The program encourages women entrepreneurs in India by enabling them to sell locally manufactured products on Amazon’s marketplace in a special storefront – Saheli.
Currently, there are hundreds of businesses promoting their products on the dedicated Saheli storefront. You can find all sorts of traditionally and innovatively handcrafted products produced by women-driven businesses. Some of the most popular product categories on the Saheli Store include:
- Office products
- Shoes & handbags
- Clothing & accessories
- Jewellery
- Home & Kitchen
- Luggage & bags
- Home décor artefacts
- Handloom
Amazon Saheli is helping more than 80,000 women artisans earn a sustainable income and live a dignified life.
Amazon Saheli Partners
Amazon has partnered with pioneering social organisations like Self Employed Women Association (SEWA), the National urban livelihood mission and Impulse Social Enterprise among others, to set up the Saheli storefront. These social organisations and initiatives encourage women to start their own businesses by providing them with a platform.
Acting as a bridge between the artisans and Amazon Saheli, the Amazon Saheli partners seek potential women entrepreneurs across the nation and help them become a seller in the marketplace. They handhold women artisans in kick-starting their online business on Amazon and get access to millions of customers.
Benefits Of Selling On Amazon Saheli
Along with a special storefront, Amazon also offers various special benefits to encourage women entrepreneurs to become sellers on the platform. Here are some of the popular benefits of the program:
Subsidised Referral Fee
Women sellers affiliated with Amazon Saheli partners can benefit from the reduced Referral or Sell on Amazon (SOA) fee. Amazon has set an upper limit fee of 12% for one year. However, the fee also depends on the product category. Lower fees can motivate more women entrepreneurs to begin or scale their business on Amazon and get financially independent.
Personalised Training
Amazon Saheli sellers can join special training sessions and workshops to launch their business on the Amazon marketplace. These sessions are conducted online as well as offline considering the fact that a large number of rural women do not have access to the internet.
Account Management Support
New sellers get guidance from an Amazon account manager for the first thirty days of business. The account managers help the sellers in learning all about selling on Amazon and get acquainted with the Seller Central platform.
Imaging & Cataloguing
Amazon offers end-to-end support to new sellers in creating their product listings and managing the product page in the initial phase. Amazon will provide assistance to new sellers in product photoshoots, cataloguing, product information and video production to increase product credibility and match Amazon’s standards of product listings.
Increased Customer Visibility
Amazon Saheli has a special storefront that grabs everyone’s attention resulting in more orders for women entrepreneurs. The storefront also showcases various categories, including Handloom, Home décor artefacts, Jewellery and Home & Kitchen products. It makes it easier for potential buyers to explore various products in different categories. Sellers can also benefit from marketing strategies like Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brand, Sponsored Store to bring in more customers and revenue.
Amazon consistently promotes handmade and Made in India products via their various marketing channels like home page banners, social media, digital ads, PR and influencer marketing.
Special initiatives like Small business day and Smbhv also promote local handmade products and small and medium-scale businesses. Amazon also collaborated with Bollywood celebrity Vidya Balan to create a buzz and market-driven businesses in the country.
You can join the Amazon Saheli program by filling and submitting your application form. If you want to register for the program, click here.
