Bengaluru, Dec 10 (IANS): The Indian arm of global e-tail major Amazon will host 'Small Business Day' online shopping event on December 16 to promote small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) and micro entrepreneurs in the country, the company said on Monday.

"Through the event, we aim to promote small businesses and micro entrepreneurs and encourage shoppers to discover and buy products directly offered by them," Amazon India said in a statement here.

The one-day online sale, starting from the midnight of December 16, is expected to see the participation of thousands of small business owners from across the country, Amazon said.

The company, which claimed the event to be the first-of-its-kind online sale dedicated for small businesses in the country, however, did not disclose the exact number of sellers to be part of the online sales event.

In a bid to encourage the SMBs, the e-commerce major will offer products from various small sellers at special prices and cashbacks for buyers, the statement said.

"The event will help customers to purchase products from micro entrepreneurs and thus support local employment," it added.

"This initiative will bring small and micro sellers and customers together to boost India's local economy," said the director of Amazon India Seller Services, Gopal Pillai, in the statement.