The governor of Baja California, Marina del Pilar visited the new Amazon headquarters in Virginia, USA, to sign an agreement whose goal is to boost growth in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where artisans in the state will also be benefited. Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma Barragán was the honor witness during this signing.

The ambassador highlighted that Baja California is one of the states with the greatest potential of growth in Mexico, which is why tightening relations with high-impact companies will aid in continuing the economic dynamism that the Mexican government is promoting for the country, with a special emphasis on states bordering the United States.

It should be noted that this signing took place in Amazon's second corporate headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, with this being the first time that a person representing the Mexican government visited these facilities.

"This agreement establishes the foundations to support the promotion, expansion, and commercialization of SMEs and local artisans' products through the Amazon Mexico store. It will also carry out training regarding digitalization and business development," the state governor said.

This initiative is looking to boost online sales and exports, as well as artisans in Baja California, providing them with tools so that their products can reach foreigners through Amazon.

"It is a true honor for us in Baja California to have the support of a company as important as Amazon, who will help us a lot to modernize our small and medium-sized companies, make them competitive, and improve significantly their quality of life," she said.

The governor underscored that this meeting is part of a broad effort between the embassy and the Baja Californian government, as part of Baja California Month in the United States, to contribute to the development of our people, promote artisanal products and SMEs, and come to agreements that open opportunities for innovation and investments in key industries.

During this event, she highlighted that Amazon has invested 690 million pesos in Baja California and that the company has a shipping center and a delivery station in Baja California with more than 150 employees, and it has also contributed by creating more than 1,000 indirect jobs.

From Amazon Mexico, the Director of the Americas Public Policy, Arrow Augerot, and the Director of Latin America Public Policy, Reuben Smith-Vaughan, both participated at this event.

"It was an honor to welcome Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila and the members of the government of Baja California to our new corporate headquarters in Arlington. We are excited about working together to make SMEs and artisans in Mexico stronger so that their businesses can grow through e-commerce and to support the sustainable development of the communities in which we operate," Arrow Augerot said.

The company also revealed that, between 2021 and 2022, there was a 27% increase in sales by merchants in Baja California offering their products on Amazon.com.mx.

Nationwide, the company has almost 18,000 domestic sellers in the Amazon Mexico store, of which, 99% of them are SMEs. Around a fifth of these companies have expanded to other countries like the United States and Canada, almost doubling their exports since 2018.

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