Mentor Connect Program for Startups Launched By Amazon India

Amazon India has announced the launch of its 'Mentor Connect' programme, which is aimed at accelerating the growth of startups and emerging brand owners enrolled under its Amazon Launchpad initiative.

Reportedly, the Mentor Connect programme will help startups to gain exclusive access to guidance from venture capitalists, industry veterans and Amazon leaders through expert knowledge sharing sessions, networking events and one-on-one mentorship sessions.

MSMEs in India are hugely scattered and spread all over in across cities and across sectors. These are mainly run as single-man operations. Considering this aspect, these startups, MSMEs led by a technically qualified person in any one subject area, lags behind in several other business areas which are considered to be essential. Engagement with mentors who could be subject matter experts or part of expert networks in other areas of business can ensure smooth business functionality

“With Amazon Mentor Connect programme, we aim to create a support system to help start-ups unlock their potential by providing them with the right kind of mentoring that can help them scale their business, avoid blind spots, learn from the experience of existing leaders, open new doors and help them unlock infinite possibilities for a Digital India,” Pranav Bhasin, Director, MSME & Selling Partner Experience, Amazon India, said in a statement.

According to a statement, mentors from educational institutions and VC firms like Fireside Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, Elevation Capital, and Tomorrow Capital have already signed up for this programme and are looking forward to contributing to the Indian startup growth story.

"Startups and emerging brands enrolled in the Amazon Launchpad programme can access guidance from these mentors through various ways. This includes one-to-one mentorship with chosen mentors over a three-month period, ongoing networking opportunities with a wider pool of industry experts, or knowledge sharing sessions between these experts and other Launchpad brands," it added.

This offers entrepreneurs a platform to engage, learn and showcase their startups to the industry's leading subject matter experts to help tackle strategic and functional challenges.

"The Amazon Mentor Connect programme will also be extended to the winners of the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship challenge in the upcoming Amazon Smbhav summit. The winners will be the first cohort of startups to receive the benefits associated with the Amazon Mentor Connect programme," the statement added.

Amazon Launchpad currently showcases over 2 lakh products offered by more than 800 emerging brands across 30 different product categories. Popular sectors catered to by these brands include health and personal care, beauty and grooming, grocery and home products.

The second edition of 'Amazon Smbhav' will be hosted from April 15-18, 2021.

"India has a large startup ecosystem that is key to disruptive innovation and accelerating India's progress towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Most of these startups are led by first time entrepreneurs who have the passion to drive a change, but don't have the experience to deal with the breadth of challenges they face along the way," Bhasin said.