Ten Ivorian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have entered the ecommerce marketplace by setting up the trade portal titled “IvoryMall”, with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC).
The initiative is part of the Trade and Regional Integration Support Program (PACIR) funded by the European Union. Under the programme, ITC assists Ivorian SMEs working in the textile, fashion and home-accessories sectors in building marketing strategies, developing marketing tools, strengthening their branding and visual identity, as well as promoting their participation in international buyer-seller events and initiatives in regional and international markets.
The structure of the IvoryMall is modular, scalable and replicable. As part of an ongoing project on virtual marketplaces (VMPs) funded by the World Bank, this solution will be used not as a marketplace in and of itself, but as a tool to capture and centralize the content before its replication and synchronization to other marketplaces, International Trade Center said on its website.
The VMP project involves training and coaching 600 SMEs from Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia to sell on VMPs. The e-mall solution can be installed for trade support institutions or SME networks that aim to offer participants an easy and cost-effective solution to trade online.
The electronic shops are designed in a way that removes 80 per cent of the complexity of setting up a new e-shop. Digital catalogues can be replicated and synchronized with different online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Facebook and soon, Etsy. Ivorian SMEs received training on managing e-shops in May 2014.
James Howe, ITC senior adviser on international marketing and branding said, “Going beyond raising of awareness, ITC technical assistance puts powerful tools in the hands of African entrepreneurs, and we help them to overcome challenges of online payment solutions and logistics. Their reaction is very exciting: they clearly understand the business potential of these new tools.”
ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Its mission is to enable small-businesses export success by connecting small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries and transition economies to the global trading system. (GK)
