E-commerce giant Amazon Inc will invest $1 billion to digitise small and medium businesses in India, said CEO Jeff Bezos at a mega two-day event, Smbhav Summit, to connect with small business owners in India. Jeff Bezos said that the 21st century will be the century of India.

Jeff Bezos and Amit Agarwal, the head of Amazon India, announced that the Amazon is investing $1 billion into India to help small and medium-sized businesses in the country come online. Amazon has previously invested about $5.5 billion in India.

“We will invest $1 billion in digitising small and medium businesses and export $10 billion worth of ‘Make In India’ goods on Amazon platform by 2025,” said Bezos. He added, “The 21st century will be the century of India. This country has something special and it’s a democracy.”

At stake is 1.4 billion people in India, more than half a billion of whom have come online for the first time in the last decade. India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow to $150 billion in the next three years, according to a report by Nasscom and PwC India, TechCrunch reported.

Jeff Bezos paid homage to Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat and tweeted later saying, “paid respects to someone who truly changed the world. “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi.”