Amazon plays mentor to desi startups

In what could turn out to be a boon for Indian startups, the world's largest online retailer Amazon is looking to mentor entrepreneurs, who want to fast-track their fledgling businesses.The US e-commerce giant is planning to provide a range of services -from providing marketing muscle and online visibility to branding and helping startups obtain licences to sell their products in international markets --through its Launchpad programme, which was introduced here on Monday .“We rolled out this programme in several markers including US, UK, Germany , Mexico and France in July last year,“ said Jason Feldman, director global innovations at Amazon. “Globally , we have around 1,000 startups on our platform selling over 4,000 products. In India, around 25 startups are already selling 400 products through this programme.“Amazon's Launchpad is a marketplace within a marketplace. Innovative products by startups, who have enrolled for the programme, are showcased here for a monthly fee of Rs 5,000. Launchpad members will also have better visibility through widgets and in-house advertising. The product listings for these startups are al so unique when compared to regular ones on Amazon.For instance, Ice Orb, which is a floating Bluetooth speaker, has one of its founder's picture in the product description section, along with a user-friendly custom narrative of the item by him.“We have a designated account manager, who is helping us with listing our products on Amazon's other global sites,“ said Pallavi Utagi, partner with Superbottoms, a startup that makes reusable cloth diapers. Utagi was earlier selling on Amazon.in but has now opted for Launchpad.“Our listings are more content-rich now through larger videos, more space and text,“ she said. “Through this programme, we want to tap markets such as Europe, where cloth diapers account for 30% of the total diaper market.“