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Business motivation Technology

Indian Startups Get Major Boost As Amazon India Rolls Out $250 Mn ‘Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund’ To Invest in Technology-Led Startups

New Delhi, April 15: With a view to encourage the startup ecosystem in India, e-commerce major Amazon on Thursday announced a $250 million fund to help businesses grow and achieve new heights. Amazon India launched the ‘Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund’ which it would invest in startups and entrepreneurs focusing on technology innovations in SMB digitisation, agriculture and healthcare. According to reports, the fund was announced in the opening session of Amazon India’s flagship event Smbhav.

Here’s how the ‘Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund’ would benefit startups in India:

  1. Amazon India said that the venture fund will invest in technology-led startups that are passionate about unlocking possibilities of a digital India.
  2. The fund will specifically focus on encouraging the best ideas to digitise SMBs (small & medium businesses), and drive technology-led innovation in agriculture to improve farmer productivity.
  3. Moreover, Amazon announced plans to digitally empower and bring 1 million offline retailers and neighbourhood stores online, on the Amazon India marketplace, by 2025 through the ‘Local Shops on Amazon’ programme.
  4. The launch of the Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund aims to attract best ideas and empower entrepreneurs in the country to partner in this vision.

Amazon also launched the ‘Spotlight North East’ initiative at the same event to bring 50,000 artisans, weavers and small businesses online from the eight states in the north-eastern region of India by 2025 and to boost exports of key commodities like tea, spices and honey from the region.

Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India said in his address that in the year 2020, the firm pledged to digitise 10 million SMBs, enable $10 billion in exports, and create 1 million jobs by 2025. “Through our initiatives, we are committed to being a catalyst and a partner in unlocking the possibilities for a Digital India, and realise the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat as put forth by the PM”, he said. “Additionally, our initiatives to onboard 1 million offline shops on Amazon.in and digitally empower the northeast region will accelerate the progress towards a digital and self-reliant India,” he added.

Categories
Startup

Food Business Ideas: 4 Low-Investment and Interesting Food Businesses That You Can Try

If you are fascinated about cooking and want to try your luck in any food business, this year can be your year! If you are a foodie and love to make and eat food, you should try and establish a business in the food making industry. If you are planning to start a food business, you should think about: What will differentiate your product from the rest? What are successful food businesses and what do you have to do to go beyond your competitors? When starting your food business ensure you incorporate the lessons from these businesses to ensure your food business idea is a success.

One thing that you should keep in mind while starting a food business is, you should gain knowledge related to food safety and food handling practice as it is very important for your business. Here are few ideas that can help you start a food business with low-cost items which are relatively simple to keep the quality consistent.

Bakery

Do you love baking for your friends and family? If you’re a skilled cook, why don’t you sell your delicious creations? If you are good at baking and have the eye for detail for cake designs and pastries and a lot more, then no one can stop you from starting your bakery business. One thing that you should keep in mind before you start is you should be excellent at preparing recipe related to bread and biscuits. You can start this business at small scale and then depending on the demand and the reach, you can expand it.

Cooking Class

If you are really skilled in cooking and know how to tingle the taste buds, you can try starting a cooking class business. Many people desire to learn the art of cooking and tend to look for online cooking classes or a cooking tutor who can help them get away with basic cooking tricks. In the time of COVID-19, online cooking classes can fetch you good money by just sitting at home and the investment requirement for this business is very low.

Pickle Making

There will be hardly anyone who doesn’t like pickles. If the demand is so high and if you are good at making the yum spicy pickles, why don’t you give it a shot? It is one of the home based small scale business idea which will not need much money to start with. People usually prefer homemade pickles and the domestic consumption is also very high apart from the export.

Fast Food Shop

People love to eat junk food. The fast food business in India is one of the most popular food business ideas today which you can get your hands on. Apart from teenagers, people of all age groups prefer fast food during snack time.

Categories
Startup

Women Entrepreneurship Cell Launched by Maharashtra Govt to Boost Female Engagement in Startups

In a bid to give a major boost to women entrepreneurship in Maharashtra, the state government has announced of establishing of a woman entrepreneurship cell. The special cell that has been launched will work towards enhancing, guiding and training the female entrepreneurs in startups and different entrepreneurship-related sectors. The news was announced by Maharashtra Employment and Entrepreneurship Minister Nawab Malik. The cell is established to improve the innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem in Maharashtra.

The Minister said that there will now be a “Girl-Student Entrepreneurship Club” at schools and universities levels. In these clubs, appropriate coaching will be given to college students who aspire to be budding entrepreneurs in their career. Further, it’ll additionally create incubators for women entrepreneurs and will help them in organising accelerated packages. The Minister further added that the monetary help might be supplied to start-ups established by these women entrepreneurs.

In December, the state government of Maharashtra decided to provide financial assistance to innovative startups which wish to file for patents. Malik had said that in the first phase of the scheme, 125 to 150 startups will be supported with financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. He said in order to survive in a competitive world, it is important for startups and early-stage entrepreneurs to protect their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).

 

Categories
Startup

Home Business Ideas: 4 Brilliant Work From Home Ideas That You Should Consider Taking Up

At a time when the world is battling the coronavirus pandemic, people have been forced to work from hone than ever. Whiles some are working remotely, some have started their own small businesses amid the crisis. Staying productive and maintaining a balance between professional and personal life is the only way out to survive the crisis. Amid the crisis, employers are encouraging or requiring people to work from home for an indeterminate amount of time. If you are planning to start a home-based business, you need to first understand what interests you and what you are good at!

Remember, a business will survive if there is a need of your product in the market. The struggle comes when you have to create a demand for your product, which takes a great deal of time, efforts and funding. Of course, there are pros and cons to consider when deciding whether a home-based business is right for you. If you’re new to the work-from-home lifestyle, you will have to change some of your routine habits to make working from home a success.

Buy products in bulk to sell

If you want to start with a small business, this hack can work wonders! Amid the pandemic and COVID-19 restrictions, people avoid venturing out to buy things. If you have good contacts, you can buy products in bulk and sell them in your circle, neighbourhood and among your pals. These products can be really simple ones, like cups, mugs, coasters or maybe other daily essential items. Maybe you know of some unique products that aren’t readily available in your market despite a demand for them.

Sell homemade products

Be your own boss and sell what you make. There is no other joy that creating something of your own and selling your own handmade products. If you are the maker yourself, you can consider turning your hobby into a business. If you like making candles, cushion covers, curtains, dresses, or anything else, you can create your products and make it commercial. You can also sell gift baskets, handmade jewellery, sweets, homemade cookies, personalized gifts, etc. The only thing you should focus on is to promote and make it reach large audience via social media. As home business idea, there are plenty of opportunities for designers to create and sell their own clothing from home.

Baker

If you enjoy cooking, especially baking, and you can spend a great deal of time baking in order to create enough goods to sell, taking up baking as a profession is meant for you! It is rewarding which fetches you decent income. With too much competition in the market, it is tough to stand out in the crowd. To take up baking business, buy some equipment and set up a commercial kitchen at home. You can sell your products to local shops or businesses or sell products online. Read up on regulations to be compliant!

Freelance Writer

If you are fond of writing and can play with words, it has huge potential to be one of the most profitable business ideas. Freelance writing is the perfect job for people planning to set up their own blog or digital content firm. You don’t need any formal training to become a freelance writer.