Amazon partners with WBIDC to boost exports from Bengal

Amazon India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) to boost e-commerce exports from the state.

With this partnership, the two will develop e-commerce exports facilitation cells and conduct capacity-building workshops in key districts across West Bengal, including Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah, Hooghly, amongst others.

The partnership is expected to help thousands of sellers from the state to sell their local products to Amazon customers in over 200 countries across the world.

Commenting on the partnership, Raju Mishra, joint secretary of WBIDC in a statement said, “With the new logistics policy and the exports policy, we aim to establish West Bengal as the global trading hub and double the state’s exports over the next decade. The West Bengal government has invested a lot in setting up dedicated export promotion committees in key districts and export facilitation cells to boost exports from the state.”

Bhupen Wakankar, director global trade at Amazon India added, “The widespread adoption of technology would be pivotal in unlocking export opportunities for countless MSMEs across West Bengal and India. This resonates in the recently introduced Foreign Trade Policy which includes a dedicated chapter on e-commerce exports and foresees e-commerce exports contributing $200-300 billion in exports from India by 2030.”

As part of the deal, Amazon has already started the process of training and onboarding artisans, craftsmen and small exporters on their global selling platform to promote e-commerce exports in West Bengal.