The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, fully dedicated to supporting small businesses of developing countries to trade. ITC is the focal point in the United Nations system for technical cooperation with developing countries and economies in transition, on trade promotion and export development.
ITC puts trade-led growth at the centre of its work in developing countries:
Digital connectivity is increasingly recognized as a driver of any economy. Small businesses need Internet access to be resilient, agile, and competitive in global markets. Participating in digital trade brings tangible social and economic benefits including new trade revenues, new jobs, and new investments. But for many small businesses in developing countries, getting online is expensive and requires new skills to capitalize on opportunities.
ITC plans to connect 20,000 small businesses from 17 countries to online opportunities by 2025, strengthening 4,000 digital entrepreneurs and reinforcing a network of 30 business support organizations.
ITC’s Response:
1. Improved capacity of stakeholders to manage the implications of digital trade
Lead multistakeholder working groups on shared initiatives, such as within the Broadband Commission.
Develop thought leadership on the implications of digital for small businesses, through applications and extension of the ITC SME Competitiveness Survey.
2. A more supportive business ecosystem; affordable and accessible connectivity
Train business support organizations on the implications of digital connectivity and ensure that they can advocate for connectivity and support changes to the digital ecosystem.
Promote appropriate support of digital entrepreneurship, especially by providing services which enable widespread or effective use of digital connectivity by small businesses.
3. A more conducive policy and regulatory environment for small businesses
Engage in public-private dialogue on digital connectivity and trade topics.
Advise policymakers on the implications of digital trade related policy and negotiations.
4. Improved capacity among small businesses to trade digitally
Build an online community for networking and learning (ecomConnect).
Establish local business support centres (hubs) to provide training and coaching.
In addition, launched in 2014, ITC’s E-learning Programme and its platform (the SME Trade Academy) offer practical offline and online courses, workshops and learning material to support skills development for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and trade advisors in both the public and private sectors. Covering a wide range of trade-related topics, the SME Trade Academy delivers a range of e-learning courses of relevance to e-commerce and the digital economy.
Each September, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) gathers world leaders in New York to set the global development agenda. Alongside the high-level debates, Digital@UNGA — co-organised by ITU and UNDP—aims to showcase how digital technologies can drive inclusion, jobs, and sustainable growth by presenting the Affiliate Session, “Unleashing the Promise of Digital Trade in Africa and Beyond.”
