Amazon India announced the launch of the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022. Designed around the theme of ‘Make in India’, the initiative will provide participating startups from anywhere in the country a chance to showcase their business proposition and get a chance to win cumulative cash prizes up to INR 65 lakhs and other rewards. Amazon has collaborated with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, National Innovation Foundation (an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology), and the NIF Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council, Fireside Ventures and Freshworks to advance the objective of reaching startup founders across Indian cities and nurture grassroot innovations from the deepest pockets of the country.
Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge is open to startups across all industries, verticals and business models. The top 250 startups will get access to a network of startup founders, rewards from Amazon and partner organizations, and mentoring sessions designed to equip them for the pitch days. The top 25 startups can access support for market linkages, global exposure, exclusive rewards and perks, and an opportunity to showcase their businesses to potential customers, approach leading investors and be mentored by industry experts. The winners will be chosen through customer votes and a cross discipline jury panel. Amazon will announce the winners at the third edition of its annual flagship summit Amazon Smbhav being organised on the 18th and 19th of May. The winning startup from the final round will be crowned ‘Amazon Smbhav ’22 Startup of the Year’ with a cash prize of INR 40 lakhs, and the first and second runners up will win cash prizes of INR 15 lakhs and INR 10 lakhs respectively.
Dr. Jitendra Singh, Honorable Union Minister of State Independent Charge, Science & 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 digitisation in MSMEs, enabling them to contribute to India’s economic growth. In line with the Honorable 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 start-up ecosystem in the world but ours is the ecosystem where the grass root innovators have equal opportunities."
Manish Tiwary, Country Manager, India Consumer Business, Amazon India said, “Throughout India, startups are setting new benchmarks in problem solving and delivering products and solutions for customers not just in India, but across the world. At Amazon, we support and celebrate builders, entrepreneurship and innovation, and the Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 is part of our commitment to enable startups and emerging brands across India realise their full potential and contribute to India’s economic progress.”
Kanwaljit Singh, Founder and Managing Partner, Fireside Ventures said, “Indian startups are making waves across the world and are touching new heights with cutting edge innovation. There is immense potential for Indian brands to strengthen their foothold in the global stage and drive the next phase of India’s growth story. We at Fireside Ventures are delighted to be partnering with Amazon for the Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge 2022 - Make in India and play our part in supporting rising entrepreneurs spearhead towards success.”
Earlier this year, Amazon signed a MoU with the NIF Incubation and Entrepreneurship Council (NIFientreC) to accelerate grassroots innovation, local economy and livelihoods across rural India. As part of the MoU, NIFientreC, with Amazon’s help will bring together experts from various fields, to hold master classes, workshops, and other interactive training programs on all aspects of product distribution and its availability for the end-user in the most convenient ways. This collaboration will help promote the creativity and innovation of students and budding entrepreneurs specializing in consumer-based technology innovation at a grass root level and accelerate the growth of a digital India.
This is the third edition of ‘Amazon Smbhav’ May 18th and 19th this year, the two-day virtual mega summit will bring together policy makers, eminent industry leaders, solution providers, startups and Amazon leadership for invigorating discussions on best ways to leverage technology to enable digitization and economic progress of lakhs of small local sellers and businesses across India. The summit will feature keynotes, panel discussions, master classes and more on the significance of technology adoption across industries while focusing on key thrust areas like Social Empowerment and Enablement for Inclusive Economic Growth, innovating for India and creating digital infrastructure and more, key highlight of the Amazon Smbhav every year are the annual ‘Amazon Smbhav Awards’ that recognizes businesses, innovators and individuals who have made a significant progress in their respective areas and contributed towards building an Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge is a platform for high-potential startups to accelerate their growth and create long-term impact at scale. This challenge is for all Indian startups building promising products and services for India and the world. The last date to apply for the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship Challenge is 15 April 2022; the search will highlight India's most promising startups
Shortlisted startups will get an opportunity to pitch their businesses to the leaders of the Indian startup ecosystem. The winners will be announced at the Amazon Smbhav Mega Summit and will be supported by Amazon to take their business to the next level.
The challenges highlighted are cash prizes, exclusive rewards, market access, global exposure, a curated mentoring programme and an opportunity to showcase one’s brand to potential customers, leading investors and industry experts.
The event is powered by Fireside Ventures and co-powered by Freshworks under its Freshworks Fors Startups program, these being the sponsors the knowledge partner is Skill India, NIFientreC and National Innovation Foundation India.
Price Money of Amazon Smbhav 2022
Startup of the year cash prize of INR 40 lakh, first runner-up cash prize is of INR 15 lakh, second runner up cash prize is of INR 10 lakh
The Awards Category Are
Top 25 will be awarded with $10,000 in AWS credits, $1500 in Business support credits, Amazon Global Selling support for 1 year, Amazon Launch pad access up to 6 months, 1-on-1 mentoring, and other exclusive offers.
Cash prizes up to Rs. 65 lakhs
Get equity-free cash prizes - Rs. 40 lakhs for the winner, Rs. 15 lakhs for the 1st runner-up and Rs. 10 lakhs for the 2nd runner-up
Exclusive rewards
All participants can choose from a range of complimentary rewards from Amazon and partner organizations
Exposure
Showcase your business to potential customers, and gain international exposure and media visibility
Investors and Mentors
Pitch to top-tier investors and take advantage of additional mentoring programs to grow your business
Get guidance on preparing your pitch deck, and key tips from our community of experts and past winners
Build connections with top entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, business leaders and a peer network of founders
Sector agnostic
Startups less than 10 years of age
Timeline
29 March to 15 April 11, 2022
Apply
23-25 April
Perfect your pitch
7-8 May
Demo Days
The top 25 startup will pitch virtually to a jury panel comprising leaders of Indian startup ecosystem
18-19 May
Winners announced
Winners will be announced live at the Amazon Smbhav Mega Summit
16-21 April
Get Selected
All applications will be passed on to an independent jury panel to determine the top 250 startups
23-27 April 11, 2022
Submit a pitch
Submit a written pitch capturing key details of your business
8-15 May
Voting
Top 5 startups will capture customer votes to better their chances of emerging as the winner.
Top 250 will be awarded with $5000 in AWS credits, $1500 in business support credits, Rs. 10,000 in Zoho wallet credits, Exclusive offers from partner organizations such as Freshworks, Notion, Paytm, Airtable, Segment, HubSpot Chargebee and more curated group mentoring program, access to an exclusive founder network.
All other applicants will be awarded with $1000 in AWS credits, $350 in developer support credits, $4000 in Freshworks credits and Amazon Global Selling support.
