What do Rohini Mane from the Vidyarthi Book Depot, Naveen Shahi of Tulsi Exports, Gautam Kumar of Real Food Mart, Sandip Singh of Ishwar Enterprises, or Priyanka Kadam from Delpick Express Parcel, Pickup & Delivery Service have in common?
They are all people who strongly believed in their dreams, looked for opportunities, and found them in Amazon’s ‘I Have Space’ (IHS) program. Amazon’s efficient delivery strategy across India’s cities and small towns is fuelled in part by this India innovation. Through IHS, Amazon gets into local-level delivery partnerships with small store owners like Ketan of Baba General Store or Vinod of Shree Mahalakshmi Novelties and Stationery. While the program benefits Amazon with last-mile connectivity, IHS partners discover an extra source of income to supplement their primary earnings from their local trades. “As you know, nothing can be managed with one person’s income. After joining Amazon’s IHS program, today I have the confidence to stand by my husband and help my household financially,” says Thulasi of Mahesh Consultant.
Helping local entrepreneurs realize their dreams
Local entrepreneurs like Thulasi or Vinod from Shree Mahalakshmi Novelties and Stationery, not only know their neighborhoods very well, but also enjoy the goodwill of their communities. This makes them an excellent choice as local delivery persons especially within small localities. What attracts store owners like Vinod or Deepak is the opportunity to earn an extra income over and above their primary income. Vinod’s daughter was critically ill, but today he is able to pay for all her medical expenses thanks to the IHS program. “Ever since my husband began working with Amazon, our financial condition has improved,” shares Vinod’s wife. Deepak’s family came from a village in India. His dream was to build them a house in the city. He’s happy that his dream has finally come true, thanks to his earnings from his local cycle shop as well as his extra earnings from the I Have Space program every month. Alongside running his shop, Deepak delivers packages to Amazon customers and also allows his little shop to act as a local storage and pickup point for packages.
IHS: Transforming lives
Acting as the local delivery points for Amazon means a higher level of customer footfall for these partners to their stores. Or take the case of the differently-abled store owner, Ketan (Baba General Store), whose life was transformed thanks to Amazon’s innovative program. “I never imagined that I could step out of home and achieve anything in my life. Now it feels good to be moving around and working too,” he says.
Empowering entrepreneurs
Finances were always a struggle for the young college student, Vinay, who delivered newspapers and milk in his neighbourhood, thanks to the IHS program, is now able to continue his education. Shares his mother, “After my son partnered with Amazon, problems at home were resolved.” The program has already helped transform the lives of thousands of local partners for the better, empowering them to achieve their personal goals. The program today makes efficient use of local grocery, stationery, pharmacy, general stores, and other small trade outlets, to name just a few, across India’s towns and cities.
If you too have “space”, and a dream to fulfil, you know what to do! Read more I Have Space Success Stories here
