Amazon Delivery Service Partner business owner Olaoluwa Abimbola, left, with Amazon SVP Dave Clark at an Amazon press event in 2018. (GeekWire Photo)

Amazon revealed growth data around its Delivery Service Partner program that launched two years ago to bolster the company’s logistics network.

There are more than 1,300 small businesses operating across five countries that have created nearly 85,000 jobs and delivered more than 1.8 billion packages via more than 40,000 Prime-branded vehicles, Amazon said in a blog post.

The program helps entrepreneurs start and run their own companies, delivering items purchased on Amazon.com in distinctive blue Prime-branded shirts and vans.

From Prime-branded planes to smiling blue delivery trucks, Amazon is increasingly handling the shipping and delivery of items purchased on its site.

Amazon’s shipping costs increased 68% year-over-year to $13.65 billion in the most recent quarter as it helped meet demand for orders amid the pandemic and invests in a 1-day delivery initiative.

Amazon on Friday also announced a new $1 million diversity grant for the DSP program.

Previously: Owning an Amazon delivery business: The risks, rewards and economic realities of the tech giant’s new program for entrepreneurs

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