In 2017, Amazon launched Amazon Saheli, a dedicated program for women entrepreneurs in India. The initiative brings locally made products from women entrepreneurs in India to the fore and helps them to become successful sellers on Amazon.in.
Amazon Saheli is a comprehensive program designed to help women entrepreneurs across India. The program provides women-led businesses with access to millions of customers through the Amazon.in marketplace, dedicated business support, and trainings during the initial onboarding period.
What Amazon Saheli offers
The Saheli storefront showcases lakhs of products, from handcrafted office supplies and home décor to fashion, jewellery, lifestyle products and innovations home appliances and gourmet snack.
Every woman who joins the Saheli program receives comprehensive onboarding support. Training workshops teach sellers how to manage their business on Amazon.in, covering inventory management to guidance on providing good customer experience. Each seller is assigned a dedicated account manager, who provides personalised guidance as they navigate the e-commerce landscape.
The program goes beyond basic support. It also provides support in relation to product photography and cataloguing support, guidance on analytics tools and business reports that enable sellers to make data-driven decisions.
Amazon Saheli allows women entrepreneurs to focus on creativity, product innovation, and building their brands.
The power of strategic collaborations
Amazon Saheli's success isn't built in isolation. The program's exponential growth and impact stem from strategic collaborations with organisations that share a common vision: creating economic opportunities for women across India. These collaborations are crucial because they provide on-ground reach, community trust, and specialised expertise .
While Amazon provides the digital infrastructure and market access, collaborating organisations bring deep community connections, understanding of local contexts, and proven frameworks for women's empowerment. This collaborative approach ensures that the program reaches women in the remotest corners of India, from rural artisans to urban entrepreneurs.
These organizations identify potential sellers, on an ongoing basis, who may be interested in selling online. Amazon then onboard them as sellers onto the Amazon marketplace in accordance with Amazon's standard onboarding process on a best effort basis
Key collaborations include:
1. Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) works at the intersection of policy, capital, and ecosystem building to enable entrepreneurship at scale. Their collaboration with Amazon Saheli focuses on creating sustainable livelihoods for women entrepreneurs by connecting them with the resources, networks, and market opportunities needed to build scalable businesses while referring sellers to Amazon who are then onboarded onto the marketplace in accordance with Amazon's standard onboarding process on a best effort basis.
2. National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), a flagship government initiative, mobilizes rural women into Self Help Groups and provides them with skill development and livelihood opportunities. Through this collaboration , Amazon Saheli extends its reach to rural women entrepreneurs who are organized into collectives, helping them transition from local markets to national e-commerce platforms.
3. DeAsra brings specialized expertise in building entrepreneurial capabilities among early-stage business owners. Their collaboration with Amazon Saheli focuses on developing the business acumen and strategic thinking skills that women entrepreneurs need to scale their ventures beyond the startup phase. They refer sellers to Amazon who are then onboarded onto the marketplace in accordance with Amazon's standard onboarding process on a best effort basis.
These collaborations , along with collaborations with HEN (Her Entrepreneurship Network), NamFAM, and 46 XX Foundation create a comprehensive support ecosystem. Each collaborator brings unique strengths—whether it's mentorship networks, technology solutions, or community mobilisation.
Saheli Accelerate: Intensive support for high-growth entrepreneurs
In 2025, Amazon Saheli launched Saheli Accelerate in collaboration with Invest India. This accelerator program was designed for women entrepreneurs ready to scale their businesses to the next level. The program provides advanced e-commerce training, one-on-one mentorship, access to Amazon's sophisticated seller tools and analytics, marketing and branding support, and account management.
The pilot program received over 400 applications from women entrepreneurs across 14 cities. From this pool, 18 entrepreneurs were selected for the inaugural cohort. Building on the success of first cohort, Saheli Accelerate 2.0 was announced at Smbhav 2025, Amazon's flagship event for small and medium businesses. The expanded program will support 50 women entrepreneurs in 2026, nearly three times the pilot cohort. The new format features a three-day intensive in-person bootcamp, providing deeper engagement, peer networking, and hands-on mentorship from industry experts.
Building a movement
Amazon Saheli represents a movement toward economic inclusion and women empowerment. By combining marketplace access with strategic collaborations and intensive acceleration programs, Amazon Saheli is helping create pathways for women entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable businesses.
From artisans in rural villages to entrepreneurs in urban centers, women across India are discovering that their dreams of owning a business are within reach. With the right support, training, and market access, they're building brands, creating employment in their communities, and inspiring the next generation of women business leaders.
The journey towards entrepreneurship is now more accessible than ever, and Amazon Saheli is committed to walking alongside every woman who dares to dream of building her own business empire.
Check out the Saheli storefront here.
