Domestic MSMEs and brands which are listed on e-commerce platform Amazon’s Global Selling Programme (GSP) have crossed $2 billion in cumulative exports. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi continues to push for Make in India and boosting exports of local products, the US-based e-tailer said that it has helped various Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and brands to export to other countries. “The GSP helps take homegrown businesses global and provides an avenue for MSMEs to build global brands. The programme is witnessing momentous growth. It took three years for the programme to hit exports of USD 1 billion and now it has grown 100 per cent to hit the next USD 1 billion in less than 18 months,” Amit Agarwal, senior VP and country head Amazon India, said.
The program, which started with a few hundreds of sellers, has over 60,000 exporters now. The Jeff Bezos-owned company had also pledged to enable $10 billion in cumulative exports by 2025 in January. Speaking on India’s MSME sector, Amit Agarwal said that MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy. The company now looks to digitally empower them to boost exports and create jobs. Moreover, he also said that exports business will be bolstered by MSMEs which will also support hundreds of families amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Exports will continue to play a critical role in this revival. GSP is helping local go global. This is more important than ever for our small businesses, and for the nation, as it recovers from unprecedented time,” he said.
Meanwhile, Nitin Gadkari, union road transport and MSME minister, also said that the MSME sector is a crucial contributor to Indian economy with the sector amounting to about 30% of the growth of the country and about 48% of India’s exports. He also had suggestions for the industry and said that while the product quality from MSMEs is good, the sector must now work on improving the packaging.
