Amazon India on Sunday announced the launch of its "Mentor Connect" programme for thousands of startups as well as emerging brands. Introduced ahead of the company's flagship event "Smbhav," the Amazon Mentor Connect programme is aimed at accelerating the growth of start-ups and emerging brands owners enrolled in the "Amazon Launchpad" programme. Amazon Launchpad showcases differentiated products from startups and emerging brands to millions of Amazon customers.

The Mentor Connect programme will help startups+ gain exclusive access to guidance from venture capitalists, industry veterans and Amazon leaders through expert knowledge sharing sessions, networking events and one-on-one mentorship sessions.

Mentors from educational institutions and VC firms like Fireside Ventures, DSG Consumer Partners, Elevation Capital, and Tomorrow Capital have already signed up for this programme and are looking forward to contributing to the Indian startup growth story, Amazon said. Startups and emerging brands enrolled in the Amazon Launchpad programme can access guidance from these mentors through various ways.

This includes one to one mentorship with chosen mentors over a 3-month period, ongoing networking opportunities with a wider pool of industry experts, or knowledge sharing sessions between these experts and other Launchpad brands. This offers entrepreneurs a platform to engage, learn and showcase their startups to the industry's leading subject matter experts to help tackle strategic and functional challenges.

Amazon said that the Mentor Connect programme will also be extended to the winners of the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship challenge in the upcoming Amazon Smbhav summit

"With Amazon Mentor Connect programme, we aim to create a support system to help start-ups unlock their potential by providing them with the right kind of mentoring that can help them scale their business, avoid blind spots, learn from experience of existing leaders, open new doors and help them unlock infinite possibilities for a Digital India," Pranav Bhasin, Director, MSME & Selling Partner Experience, Amazon India, said in a statement.

Amazon said that the Mentor Connect programme will also be extended to the winners of the Amazon Smbhav Entrepreneurship challenge in the upcoming Amazon Smbhav summit. The winners will be the first cohort of startups to receive the benefits associated with the Amazon Mentor Connect programme. The second edition of "Amazon Smbhav" will be hosted from April 15-18.