Amazon.co.za’s Seller Success Centre empowers growth of local business

Image by Evan-Lee Courie

The walk-in seller hub aims to empower local businesses from across the country to reach more customers and expand their businesses.

Located at Amazon's head office in Observatory, Cape Town, the centre offers local sellers a range of services such as on-the-spot registration to sell on Amazon.co.za, training through interactive educational screens, in-person webinars, event facilities for networking, product imaging and cataloguing assistance, and shipping and logistics support.

Open to the public, the centre welcomes walk-ins from all entrepreneurs and businesses interested in exploring selling opportunities in Amazon’s store.

“We're thrilled to introduce the Amazon Seller Success Centre to South African small businesses,” said Robert Koen, MD of Amazon Sub-Saharan Africa.

“This initiative underscores our commitment to fostering the growth of local businesses and contributing to South Africa's digital economy. By providing hands-on support and resources, we're working to bridge the technological divide for those who historically have not been able to access ecommerce opportunities. We also acknowledge the importance of in-person interactions to make it easier for South African small businesses to take advantage of all the opportunities available to Amazon’s selling partners.”

The launch of the Amazon Seller Success Centre is timely for South Africa's Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprise (SMME) sector, which employs approximately 50% of the country’s workforce and contributes about 34% to GDP but struggles with digital adoption due to limited access to technology and skills.

Empowering sellers and small businesses

The centre addresses these challenges by empowering sellers and small businesses with tools to enable greater digital adoption. Staffed by a team of subject matter experts in various aspects of Amazon's offerings for selling partners, interested entrepreneurs and small businesses will have access to in-depth knowledge of seller account management and onboarding.

To foster a sense of community and facilitate knowledge sharing, the Centre will host and moderate monthly selling partner connect sessions, providing valuable networking opportunities and peer-to-peer learning experiences.

Commenting on the benefits of digitising her business, Nikki Robertson, founder of ethical-luxe beaded jewelry brand, Zulu Mien said: “Amazon has maintained strong communication and guided me through the process of becoming an online seller. Managing my business alone is challenging, but their assistance has been invaluable in digitising my business to access more customers. I truly appreciate their commitment to helping small enterprises like mine, which empowers rural women artisans.”

As further proof of its commitment to supporting and empowering local sellers, Amazon South Africa also announced that it would be hosting its first-ever Seller Summit within the first half of the year.

The Seller Summit, dates still to confirmed, will provide Amazon’s existing and potential selling partners with exclusive content, spotlighting the latest tools and innovations, opportunities to make meaningful connections with like-minded selling partners, and expert-led interactive training sessions.

"The Amazon Seller Success Centre is a launchpad for local businesses aiming to thrive in the digital marketplace," said Suzelle Abe, head of Marketplace, Amazon South Africa.

"Based on feedback from our selling partners, we want to give businesses of all sizes access to the necessary tools to take the – sometimes daunting – leap into the digital realm and expose them to more customers. This initiative empowers small businesses to scale both locally and globally, while at the same time broadening customer choices. Ultimately, it's about fostering a vibrant seller community that contributes to our country's prosperity."

Vsit Amazon.co.za For more information on how to sell