SME exporters access online markets

摘要

The future of global trade is on the Internet and Trade Promotion Organizations (TPOs) have a critical role to play in securing a significant share of this value for their constituent exporters. According to the International Data Corporation, worldwide e-commerce, including both retail ('business to consumer' or B2C) and wholesale {'business to business' or B2B), is expected to double from US$ 8 trillion in 2009 to US$ 16 trillion by 2013. When e-commerce first began in the mid 1990s, development experts swooned at its prospects for 'leveling the playing field for the little guy'. Bill Gates gushed about the promise of 'frictionless capitalism' enabling small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to bypass the long chain of middlemen that take the lion's share of income. For example, eBay's research in preparation for launching their marketplace, www.Worldof good.com, showed that arti-sans typically receive less than 10% of the final consumer price on the international market.