The ecomConnect
programme

Africa Fashion and Textile Accelerator Network (Africa FAN), jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the International Trade Centre (ITC), aimed to increase the sourcing of sustainably produced textiles from emerging textile and apparel production hubs in Africa, thereby creating jobs for the region’s growing workforce. The ecomConnect team stepped in to help Ghanaian MSMEs with marketing and branding, through a capacity-building programme to optimize their marketing strategies, improve their digital content and connect to new online sales channels.

The programme initiated by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and supported by ICC-ESCWA Centre of Entrepreneurship and International Trade Center (ITC), aimed to contribute to the growth of the digital economy and stimulates a dynamic entrepreneurship environment across the Arab region and to digitize 100 small and medium-sized enterprises from the Arab region with the goal to keep up with the rapidly changing economy, creating new jobs, cutting costs, streamlining operations, boosting sales via online channels, and reaching regional and international markets.

Participated businesses benefited from ITC’s business and technical expertise, e-commerce training, one-on-one coaching, and support, in addition to exposure and access to networking opportunities.

The programme aims to increase the participation of women-owned businesses in trade in order to increase economic growth and job creation in Commonwealth countries.

ITC's ecomConnect team has coached small businesses, ranging from the information technology (IT) and tourism sectors to online retailers, to improve their websites, social media accounts and overall visibility on search engines.

Women and E-commerce project linking Central American Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) with the Global Gifts and Home Decoration Market aimed to improve the export performance of women-owned businesses from Central America to sell online.

The project beneficiaries were 200 women-owned businesses involved in the sale and export of handicrafts for the gift and home decoration industries. Alongside work to improve product quality and design, the women-led businesses were trained and prepared to be listed on international online marketplaces such as Etsy and eBay, develop and optimize their own websites, use different digital marketing channels to generate traffic and sales, receive online payments, prepare orders for shipment, and provide quality customer service.

The Ready4Trade Central Asia project is a joint initiative of the European Union (EU) and the International Trade Centre (ITC).

This project aims to contribute to the overall sustainable and inclusive economic development of Central Asia by boosting intra-regional and international trade in the region.

The e-commerce component supports 200 small businesses and artisans with capacity building, advisory services and awareness-raising activities to trade through online channels.

Under the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), ITC's ecomConnect team implemented the E-commerce for Women-led Businesses project in Lebanon and Tunisia to support women-led small businesses to access new markets through e-commerce platforms and improve their e-commerce-related business environment and infrastructure.