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Amazon chief Jeff Bezos to invest USD 1 bn in digitising Indian SMBs

Making major investment announcements in India, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos on Wednesday said the e-commerce major will invest USD 1…

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos to invest USD 1 bn in digitising Indian SMBs

CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos (R) gestures as he addresses the Amazon's annual Smbhav event in New Delhi on January 15, 2020. - Bezos, whose worth has been estimated at more than $110 billion, is officially in India for a meeting of business leaders in New Delhi. (Photo by Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP)

Making major investment announcements in India, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos on Wednesday said the e-commerce major will invest USD 1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) in digitising small and medium businesses (SMB) in India.

The company will use its global footprint to export USD 10 billion worth of Make In India goods by 2025, Bezos said at the Amazon SMBhav summit which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India.

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“I predict that 21st century is going to be the Indian century,” he said, adding that apart from the dynamism it has, India is a democracy which is a major characteristic of the country.

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He also stated that the India-US alliance will be the most important in 21st century. Bezos is in India this week and is expected to meet top government functionaries, business leaders and SMBs.

Mr Bezos last visited India in 2014 under starkly different circumstances. During that trip, the Amazon founder wore local festive garb, rode atop a festooned truck for a photo opp and presented Amazon’s Indian unit with a giant check for $2 billion. Since then, Amazon has pledged a further $3.5 billion to expand in the country.

This time around Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos visit to India kicked off with one of the first things was his visit to Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial in Delhi.

 

 

Bezos’ visit to India comes at a crucial time as the Competition Commission of India has ordered an enquiry into the business practices of the e-commerce majors Amazon and Flipkart.

(With input from agencies)

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