Amazon has announced the launch of its new Campus Challenge competition and is encouraging students in Swansea to sign up for the programme to be in with the chance of winning up to £10,000 for their team.

The Amazon Campus Challenge is a competition running in the UK, offering students with an interest in business the opportunity to work with real businesses and start-ups to help them grow their business on Amazon and reach customers around the world.

The competition is open for students aged 18 and over, who are studying for an apprenticeship, bachelors or master’s degree during the 19/20 academic year. The competition is open for registrations now at www.amazoncampuschallenge.co.uk and begins in January 2020.

“Unearthing and inspiring the next generation of e-commerce superstars is something we’re hugely passionate about, and it’s this passion that led to the creation of the Amazon Campus Challenge,”

said Chris Law, Amazon Swansea Site Leader.

“The competition offers a great opportunity for students to test and develop their business skills in a real-life environment and I hope many students, teachers and lecturers in Swansea will sign up and get involved.”

After identifying a company of their choice and agreeing on a partnership, students will define and implement an e-commerce strategy for the business. Students compete in teams of two to five.

To be successful, they will hone their e-commerce skills, learning how to set up a real-life business on Amazon, how to market that company’s products to customers and how to reach a global audience.

The competition runs until June 2020, when a panel of UK business leaders will choose the winning teams. Up to £28,000 is up for grabs, with the first place team set to win £10,000. The winning teams may be offered the opportunity to interview for a job at Amazon UK, subject to business requirements.

From September 2019 to June 2020, student teams will be tasked with approaching and supporting a company of their choice that has not yet set up an account to sell on Amazon. Once agreed, the students will work with the businesses to help them grow and succeed on Amazon.

“Students can offer so much to a small business – a fresh perspective, new ideas and, of course, additional resource,”

added Anne Kiem, Executive Director, Small Business Charter.

“There are 340,000 students studying business in the UK and 36 business schools that are recognised through the Small Business Charter for supporting small businesses and student enterprise. The Amazon Campus Challenge is a wonderful opportunity for these students to further apply and develop their skills in real-world business settings, which for many is a core element of their degree course.”

More than half of Amazon’s total global sales come from small and medium-sized businesses. Eight-in-ten UK businesses selling on Amazon currently export, achieving over £2.5bn in exports last year.