Digital Trade Interface: When Sound Regulation and Innovative Technologies Produce Economic Payoffs
- OVERVIEW
The session will explore how new and emerging digital trade technologies can act as drivers of greater efficiency and transparency in moving goods across borders or facilitating cross-border digital payments, thereby producing tangible economic gains to a broad cross-section of stakeholders including governments, firms and consumers. For materializing these gains, a conducive policy, legislative and regulatory environment are required to help these technologies, first to gain a foothold and then scale up. This session will convene experts from governments, industries and international organizations to share their experience and insights from experiences working to improve cross-border trade flows. The session will discuss real-world technologies and solutions and share how the collaboration between public and private sectors can unlock the myriad potential these new innovations offer, including streamlining cross-border transactions, reducing costs, and fostering greater economic resilience. Key topics that would be discussed in the session include regulatory frameworks, interoperability of digital trade systems, and real-world case studies of successful implementation. Participants will gain insights into how well-designed and faithfully implemented policies when combined with technological innovation can unlock the full potential of digital trade, enhancing connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
This event is co-organized by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) as part of the Paperless Trade Week 2025, led by ESCAP.
- DOCUMENTS
Tentative Programme
PDF- SPEAKERS
Mr. Tim StekkingerHead, TradeTech Initiative, World Economic Forum
Tim leads the TradeTech Global Initiative, a collaboration between the World Economic Forum and the UAE Government, advancing efficient, sustainable, and equitable trade through technology and innovation.
He previously held leadership roles at DSV Financial Services, DSV Innovation Hub, and as VP at Panalpina, a Swiss freight forwarder. Tim is a former entrepreneur and was Chairman of VineView, a leading Canadian agri-tech startup.
Tim began his career in banking, spending over a decade at Dutch banks Rabobank and ABN AMRO, where he held management roles at the intersection of technology and business, driving innovation and developing new financial solutions.
He holds a Master’s degree in International Business Administration from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, and a Bachelor's degree in Business from the University of Nijmegen in the Netherlands.
Mr. Lingraj MahanandChief Executive Officer, Credore
Lingraj Mahanand is the founder of Credore, a fintech company focused on transforming how cross-border trade documentation is managed. With over 15 years of experience in IT and software development including roles at global investment banks and fintech startups, he brings both technical expertise and a deep understanding of financial systems.
At Credore, Lingraj is leading the development of a platform that enables MLETR-compliant, legally recognized digital documents such as electronic Bills of Lading (eBL) and digital promissory notes. His mission is to reduce friction in international trade, especially for MSMEs, by enabling faster, more secure, and fully digital documentation processes. Under his leadership, Credore has already onboarded over 20 corporates across India, the UK, UAE, Singapore, and Malaysia, and is working with banks and financial institutions to power cross-border trade finance.
Mr. Lee TaroneChief Executive Officer, Voy Finance
Lee Tarone Embury is the founder of Paiperless, an AI-powered platform transforming how trade is digitized and financed across emerging markets.
Based in Bangkok, he focuses on streamlining trade routes with automation that supports people—not replaces them—empowering communities through smarter, more inclusive infrastructure.
Driven by a bold vision for a paperless traded world, Lee is building the digital backbone of modern commerce—using AI to turn static documents into dynamic data, unlock ESG insights, and power localized payment systems that fit real-world needs.
Lee actively collaborates with institutions such as the World Economic Forum and the UAE Ministry of Trade and Economy, helping shape policy, digital standards, and AI frameworks that foster trust and accelerate adoption. Through pAiperless, he is enabling a future where data moves as efficiently as goods, and economic transformation happens by leaps and bounds across Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.
Mr. Yann DuvalChief, Trade Policy and Facilitation Section, ESCAP
Yann Duval is currently Chief of Trade Policy and Facilitation Section at UN-ESCAP, the regional branch of the United Nations Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Duval has conducted research and delivered technical assistance and advisory services on trade policy and facilitation throughout Asia and the Pacific, including on the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. He spearheaded the development of the Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (ARTNeT), as well as, interalia, the creation of the ESCAP-World Bank Trade Cost Database, the UN Global Survey on Trade Facilitation and Paperless Trade Implementation and the online Trade Intelligence and Negotiation Adviser (TINA).
Mr. Marcin ParafianowiczFounder and Chief Executive Officer, Empeiria
Marcin Parafianowicz, Founder and CEO of Empeiria, leverages 15 years of digital transformation experience—including leadership at SAP—to drive innovation in digital trust. He collaborates with policymakers to shape open standards for secure, interoperable data exchange and champions regulations that empower SMEs and enable sustainable, cross-border commerce.
Empeiria stands out as a leader in digital trust infrastructure, offering verifiable data and decentralized identity solutions. The company has been recognized by the World Economic Forum’s TradeTech Sandbox and the UAE Ministry of Economy’s Future 100 award. Empeiria provides the simplest way to deploy and integrate digital identity systems, ensuring that data is verifiable, auditable, and interoperable across individuals, AI, devices, and organizations. With a secure, open-source stack powered by blockchain, Empeiria supports Digital Product Passports, compliant tokenization, and interactions with AI agents—enabling clients worldwide to build resilient, future-ready systems.
Ms. Kaewkamol (Karen) PitakdumrongkitInterim Secretary General, Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
Kaewkamol (Karen) Pitakdumrongkit is the Interim Secretary General of the PECC International Secretariat.
Prior to this role, Dr Pitakdumrongkit served as Head of the Centre for Multilateralism Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU). She led a team of researchers and oversaw policy studies, stakeholder engagement, and capacity-building initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region. She has a proven track record in managing funds from diverse stakeholders, publishing research in high-impact outlets, and providing strategic insights to governments, international organizations, and businesses.
Dr Pitakdumrongkit earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, specializing in International Political Economy and International Relations. She also holds a B.A. in Political Science with a focus on International Relations from California State University, Long Beach.
Mr. Simon LaceyHead of Digital Trade and Geopolitics, World Economic Forum
Simon Lacey is Head Digital Trade and Geopolitics at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. Prior to taking up this role, he was Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in International Trade at the University of Adelaide’s School of Economics and Public Policy. Simon served for almost five years as Vice-President Trade Facilitation and Market Access at Huawei Technologies in Shenzhen, where he was responsible for monitoring, and advising management on how to mitigate the biggest trade and investment risks facing the company across a dozen of its most important markets internationally.
Prior to this, Simon spent four years in Jakarta advising the Indonesian government on a broad range of issues in connection with the country’s membership of ASEAN, the WTO, and various preferential trade agreements. In a career spanning over 20 years, Simon has worked in over 30 countries in the Far East, Central Asia, the Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Oceania.
Simon obtained his bachelor’s in laws from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and an LLM from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC.
for more information, please contact
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