ICE Agency and Amazon renewed the agreement for the promotion of Made in Italy in the world. Starting from 2019, the agreement involved about 2,200 Italian companies and recorded a selection of about 280,000 products available to Amazon customers around the world.

As part of the agreement inaugurated today, the "Amazon Incubator" project will guide step by step more than 100 SMEs in the internationalization process. Amazon's Made in Italy showcase will be available on the dedicated sections of Amazon.nl (Netherlands), Amazon.pl (Poland) and Amazon.se (Sweden), in addition to those already present in France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Japan and United Arab Emirates.

After that between ICE Agency and Alibaba.com, the new agreement provides for the implementation of a promotion and development plan for companies with products within the Amazon showcase dedicated exclusively to Made in Italy, as well as a training plan for online sales and marketing activities that promote products and increase sales abroad.

In addition, as part of the agreement between the ICE Agency and Amazon, this year the Amazon Incubator pilot project - lasting one year - is part of the pilot project with the aim of providing companies that will join the program with the tools necessary to grow their business beyond national borders. Through Amazon Incubator, Amazon and the ICE Agency will select more than 100 SMEs with the greatest potential to guide them step by step in the realization of a plan to strengthen their online presence.

Italian exports increased from 6 to 9% in three years

"In a scenario of global markets as complex as the current one, promoting Made in Italy in the world requires more training and innovation to accompany them in the digital transition of business models. The 20 new actions of ICE Agency to support SMEs on international markets go in this direction" – says Carlo Ferro, President of ICE Agency. "Among these, we have led to exporting online over 7000 SMEs on the 33 Made in Italy showcases launched by ICE Agency with leading marketplaces in the world. The results can be seen: the weight of online trade on Italian exports increased from 6 to 9% in three years. In short, we offer everyone a 'digital elevator' to access the online demand of consumers in other countries and thus increase the number of exporting companies and the value of exports".

Anna Bortolussi, General Manager Brand Owner and Seller Success of Amazon in Europe, commented: "We will continue to invest and innovate to help the more than 20k SMEs in our country that sell on Amazon and that in 2021 recorded sales abroad for about 800 million euros, of which more than 60 million euros outside the European Union. This is in line with our broader goal of helping sales partners reach €1.2 billion in exports per year by 2025".

Amazon Made in Italy Showcase

Inside Amazon's Made in Italy showcase, customers can find products from all over Italy, with the opportunity to discover 15 regional routes dedicated to as many regions such as Abruzzo, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Liguria, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Puglia, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto.

To date, overall, the showcase includes over 1 million products and has 4,500 Italian companies that export outside the national borders, and is available in Amazon.it, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.es, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.jp and Amazon.ae. Amazon.nl, Amazon.pl and Amazon.se stores have recently been added, with a selection already available respectively of over 60,000, 48,500 and 47,000 Made in Italy products in each store.

The ICE Agency's mission

ICE Agency for the promotion abroad and internationalization of Italian companies is the body through which the Government promotes the consolidation and economic-commercial development of our companies on foreign markets. It also acts as a subject in charge of promoting the attraction of foreign investments in Italy. With a dynamic, motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of offices abroad, ICE Agency carries out information, assistance, consultancy, promotion and training activities for small and medium-sized Italian enterprises.