Keeping in line with its promise to empower budding entrepreneurs and contribute toward Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Amazon India has announced the launch of the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022.
To drive the momentum of the challenge, Amazon has partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, National Innovation Foundation, NIF Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council, Fireside Ventures and Freshworks to reach founders across India. The intention is to nurture innovations from the deepest pockets of the country.
Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 would look forward to scouting eligible entities in large numbers and I am confident that this kind of a purposeful partnership will bring digitization in MSMEs, enabling them to contribute to India’s economic growth.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, says, “I am pleased to deepen our partnership with Amazon on this mission of creating opportunities. Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 would look forward to scouting eligible entities in large numbers and I am confident that this kind of a purposeful partnership will bring digitization in MSMEs, enabling them to contribute to India’s economic growth. In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s call to build an Atmanirbhar Bharat, I am proud to announce my Ministry’s partnership with Amazon on this challenge to empower talented entrepreneurs across Tier 2/ Tier 3 cities and rural areas to reach their fullest potential. India might still be the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world but ours is the ecosystem where the grassroot innovators have equal opportunities.”
Exciting rewards and crowning moment
Mr. Sumant Kakaria, past winner at Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2021 and Founder & CEO of SoleThreads says, “Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge has given SoleThreads the resources in the form of tools and tech that were needed to build and refine our offerings. This has helped us drive impact at scale. The challenge encouraged us to refine our thoughts and brand-focused ideas, and helped us build key networks along the way. This is a fantastic platform for emerging startups, and I wish all participants this year great success!”
This is a fantastic platform for emerging startups, and I wish all participants this year great success!
Amazon India has called growing startups to participate in the challenge and win a chance to financially empower their business. The winning startup will be crowned ‘Amazon Smbhav ‘22 Startup of the Year’ with a cash prize of INR 40 Lakh. The first and second runners-up will win cash prizes of INR 15 Lakh and INR 10 Lakh respectively. Besides, three special mention awards will be given under separate categories, for the Most Sustainability Focused Startup, Most Promising Woman-Led Startup, and the Most Promising Consumer Product Startup.
The top 250 shortlisted startups stand to win access to curated rewards from Amazon and partner organizations, a network of startup founders, and mentoring sessions designed to equip them for the pitch days. These startups will be evaluated by an eminent jury of panelists, and the top 25 startups will get access to support for market linkages, global exposure, and other exciting rewards. Again, out of the top 25, five finalists will win the race.
The winners of the challenge will be selected through jury scores and customer votes, and will be announced at the Amazon Smbhav 2022 Summit on May 18 and 19 among thousands of participants. These include SMBs, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and global leaders.
All applicants of the challenge can access AWS credits, Developer support credits, Freshworks credits and Amazon Global Selling support!
The challenge is open to Indian startups across all industries, verticals, and business models. Interested participants must be an Indian-registered entity, and should have been established for no more than 10 years since the date of incorporation, with a turnover not exceeding INR 250 crore for any financial year.
So, what are you waiting for? Be a part of the movement, and accelerate your journey to drive impact at scale!
