Amazon UAE site to showcase 100,000 companies, including local SMEs, by 2026

Amazon, the world's biggest e-commerce company, will showcase 100,000 businesses, including local small and medium enterprises, on its UAE website by 2026, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, has said.

“Dubai has positioned itself as a thriving centre for the digital economy,” Sheikh Hamdan said on Twitter on Tuesday. “I welcome Amazon’s plans to showcase 100,000 businesses, including local SMEs, on Amazon.ae by 2026. “This initiative will grant Emirati companies a global platform, aligning with D33's aspirations, and enabling further progress towards our shared goals.”

Launched in January, D33 aims to double the size of Dubai’s economy, with a target of reaching Dh32 trillion ($8.7 trillion) by 2033 and establishing the emirate among the top three global cities.

It aims to make Dubai a global digital economy leader, the fastest-growing and most attractive global business centre, a centre for sustainability and economic diversification, an incubator and enabler of talented citizens, and a preferred destination for major international companies and investments.

"We are constantly making investments to support the UAE’s digital economy. As part of this initiative, we will continue to support local businesses and SMEs to help them thrive and successfully grow their business by providing them access to customers on Amazon.ae, as well as our technology and logistics solutions with Fulfillment by Amazon," Ronaldo Mouchawar, vice president at Amazon Mena, told The National.

"Our global registration program on Amazon.ae also makes it easier and more seamless for local sellers to sell on Amazon stores globally, reaching hundreds of millions of worldwide active customer accounts."

The 10-year D33 strategy also envisages a programme to support 30 private companies to achieve the unicorn status ― start-ups worth more than $1 billion. Other business incubators will support the growth of private companies, with 400 of the most promising identified.

Amazon has been actively investing in the UAE in recent years. It is building the Middle East's most technologically advanced warehouse in Abu Dhabi and also opened a major warehouse in the emirate in June last year.

Aligning with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, Amazon aims to grow the number of SMEs that sell on Amazon.ae "from 50,000 to 100,000 by 2026", Mr Mouchawar said.