Empowering entrepreneurs and SMEs with cross-border expertise to take local brands global

SINGAPORE - 11 October 2023 - Amazon Global Selling Singapore today unveiled its 2024 strategic priorities at the Amazon Global Selling Summit 2023 (Southeast Asia) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Nanyang Polytechnic's Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (NYP-SIRS).

According to the MOU, the two parties will join hands to bolster online export capabilities of Singaporean entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and will further empower them in going global. The program aims to equip around 800 Singaporean entrepreneurs and SMEs with the knowledge and skillsets to take their business online in the next three years and help them seize cross-border ecommerce (CBEC) opportunities. At the summit, Amazon also introduced a fee-waiver for new sellers from Southeast Asian countries.

Synergistic Collaboration with NYP-SIRS

The value of B2C e-commerce sales earned by Singapore firms from overseas sales has the potential to more than double from S$1.7 billion in 2022 to S$3.9 billion by 2027, if they invest in cross-border e-commerce. These are findings from the recently launched 'Local Sellers, Global Consumers: Capturing the e-commerce export opportunity in Singapore' study[1], which surveyed over 300 SMEs from Singapore.

One of the key strategies of the Retail Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 led by Enterprise Singapore is to build global Singapore brands and support internationalization. This is also the main backdrop of the MOU between Amazon Global Selling Singapore and NYP-SIRS. Amazon Global Selling's vision is to help businesses benefit from global digital transformation, build international brands and directly reach Amazon customers worldwide. Through the collaboration, the two parties plan to jointly coordinate and organize trainings and courses, so as to empower entrepreneurs and SMEs to have the opportunity of operating on the same stage as established brands and to win global customer recognition.

Singapore entrepreneurs, SMEs and retailers can look forward to availing themselves of initiatives and programmes such as product sourcing best practices, study missions, and workshops for product development that can tap on the global consumption trends. The goal is to elevate the training and support available to CBEC sellers, particularly those with their sights set on North America. Amazon Global Selling and NYP-SIRS plan to work together to explore more initiatives to encourage and support the adoption of cross-border e-commerce among entrepreneurs and SMEs. Over the course of three years, the program aims to equip around 800 Singaporean entrepreneurs and SMEs with the knowledge and skillsets required to jumpstart and nurture their CBEC businesses.

Anand Palit, Head of Amazon Global Selling, Southeast Asia, said: "This collaboration marks a key milestone in our continuous journey of empowering Singapore SMEs and entrepreneurs to thrive on a global scale. As the e-commerce landscape rapidly evolves, our commitment remains resolute in equipping local entrepreneurs and businesses with the knowledge, resources, and online export expertise essential for sustained international success. We recognize the immense potential within Southeast Asia and envision a future where our joint efforts with industry collaborators will serve as a catalyst for the region's entrepreneurial community. Together, we will not only navigate the opportunities and complexities of cross-border e-commerce but also pioneer innovative solutions that keep local brands at the forefront of global cross-border e-commerce."

Russell Chan, Principal & CEO, Nanyang Polytechnic, said: "By being aware of what local businesses wanted and needed, we were able to work with Amazon Global Selling so that this collaboration delivers real, immediate and practical initiatives which tap into Amazon's global expertise and insights, as well as NYP-SIRS' experience and know-how in the retail space. This region is quickly developing into a powerhouse for the B2C cross-border market - and this collaboration is poised to make considerable impact."

Empowering Business Success at Amazon Global Selling Summit 2023 (Southeast Asia)

Themed 'Go Global from the Get Go', this year's Amazon Global Selling Summit (Southeast Asia) will showcase inspirational success stories from sellers across the region, illustrating how they harnessed Amazon's innovative services and tools to achieve their goals of selling internationally in North America and Europe.

At the summit, Amazon Global Selling also outlined four strategic priorities for its business in Southeast Asia in 2024: Introducing global infrastructure and resources, strengthening local industry and entrepreneurship collaborations, enhancing product innovation and services to improve seller experience, and comprehensive global brand-building solutions. Furthermore, Amazon Global Selling announced additional initiatives to bolster support for Southeast Asian sellers.

Amazon Global Selling Strategic Priorities for 2024

Introducing global infrastructure and resources: Amazon is constantly investing in global infrastructure and supply chain innovation to help optimize and simplify the fulfilment and delivery needs of sellers. FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon) offers a fast and reliable service that helps sellers reduce the operational burden so that they can focus on their brand and product innovation. This September, Amazon introduced Supply Chain by Amazon[2], an end-to-end, fully automated set of supply chain services that will provide sellers with a complete solution to quickly and reliably move products from manufacturing locations to customers around the world.

Strengthening local industry and entrepreneurship collaboration: Amazon Global Selling will continue actively strengthening collaborations with governments, industry associations, and institutes of higher learning in the region, to empower entrepreneurs and upskill SMEs in CBEC. These efforts and collaborations, such as with NYP-SIRS, Enterprise Singapore, Singapore Business Federation (SBF), and the Department of International Trade Promotion (Thailand) not only facilitate knowledge sharing, but also bolster online export capabilities.

Enhancing product innovation and services to improve seller experience: Amazon is committed to introducing innovative products and services to reduce seller frictions and improve seller experiences. To simplify how sellers create more thorough and captivating product descriptions, a set of generative AI capabilities were just launched to make it faster and easier for sellers to list new products[3]. In Southeast Asia, where credit card penetration is relatively low[4], Amazon recently launched debit card acceptance on Amazon stores for sellers in Southeast Asia countries such as the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand to enhance the seller registration experience in these regions.

Comprehensive global brand building solutions: Amazon supports businesses of all sizes to launch and build a successful brand and offers comprehensive solutions for brands seeking to establish a global presence. Beyond advertising tools, brand owners in the region can also look forward to newly introduced tools such as the Customer Loyalty Dashboard to help brand owners build stronger relationships with customers and boost brand and product-level loyalty[5], as well as Brand Tailored Promotions which helps brands offer promotional codes to potential and new customers.

Steadfast Commitment

Anand Palit, Head of Amazon Global Selling, Southeast Asia, added: "Amazon Global Selling Singapore has been constantly strengthening and expanding our support for Singapore and Southeast Asian sellers, working closely with key partners. We remain steadfast in our commitment to help Singapore and Southeast Asian regional businesses grow into global brands. This commitment involves enhancing the capabilities of local entrepreneurs, and SMEs in the dynamic CBEC landscape, as well as leveraging Amazon's active customer base, global infrastructure and innovative products.

Subscription Fee Waiver for New Sellers: To further support new sellers and provide more opportunities to those who are open to explore cross-border e-commerce opportunities, Amazon is also offering a six-month discount on its Professional Selling plan to sellers located in Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and several other Asia regions who register to sell in North America stores. Sellers who register with Amazon Global Selling for the first time can pay a total of USD 1[6] for the first 6-months' subscription fee (USD 1 for first month and USD 0 for the following 5 months), instead of paying the standard fee for the Professional Selling Plan. This initiative lowers the entry cost for SMEs who are planning to set up a global business and helps them to kick-start the first step financially.

Grey Tan, Founder of Thiccly, said: "Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) has been a game changer for my business. With FBA, our business became scalable with a global reach from Day 1. Instead of being swamped with operational logistics of packing orders for our Thiccly GrowPoles, we can focus on product design. In the first year of selling through Amazon Global Selling, we launched 6 new products within 12 months, and scaled our revenue 5 times. And we're on track to grow our revenue 400% year-on-year in 2023. Beyond plant care, Amazon Global Selling gave us the confidence to start a new venture."

To learn more about the millions of small and medium-sized businesses from around the world growing with Amazon, visit: aboutamazon.com/supporting-small-businesses.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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