International Trade Forum articles from July 2003

International Trade Forum archives from July 2003

The changing marketplace: putting "e" to work.(Editorial)
July 1, 2003... If communities in developing countries are to benefit from technology, we need to 'put "e"' to work'. Technology is one thing. Applying the benefits of technology to boost exports, jobs and income, is another. This issue of Forum is part...

The changing marketplace: small exporters in developing countries can sharpen their competitive edge using information and communications technologies (ICT).
July 1, 2003... Putting "E" to Work Traditional Exports in New Ways New technologies give exporters opportunities to trade goods and services more efficiently and reach new markets. Market research * Online market analysis * Finding...

Putting "e" to work: whether it is in processes, products or markets, exporters who do not keep up with technological innovations in their field may fall behind. A solid investment strategy in "e", however, can help SMEs enter new markets and overcome or sidestep many traditional obstacles they face while competing internationally.(ITC Speaks)
July 1, 2003... In many developing countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly concerned about being able to benefit from the electronic, or "e", dimension of the information age. They are far more aware of the rich potential of "e"...

Beyond access: national e-trade strategies: to increase exports and improve national competitiveness, developing countries need specific e-trade strategies that go beyond the issue of access.(ITC Speaks)
July 1, 2003... Companies trade, not countries. Unless national trade strategies can be expressed in company-level impacts such as new business startups; the number of companies online; e-transacted export sales; and total new jobs, then they are not worth...

Checklist for national e-readiness: small firms in developing countries can be more competitive using ICTs--by participating in new export sectors, streamlining business activities and linking with trade development partners more effectively. This article provides recommendations to firms and governments on integrating ICTs for trade.(Partners: news and views)(information and communications technologies)
July 1, 2003... It's said that the Silk Roads of the 21st century are paved with fibre optic cables and telecommunications networks, For small firms in developing countries, using information and communications technologies (ICTs) opens up new trade...

Governments can advance innovation: to create conditions for innovation, governments should promote e-literacy and capital markets as well as set the right legal and technological infrastructure in place.(Partners: news and views)
July 1, 2003... Q Why do some countries, like India, succeed in moving into growing trade sectors based on knowledge capital (such as software) while others fail? A Access to cheap labour and raw materials do not necessarily predict trade success....

Brazil's chamber of E-commerce promotes E-business: chambers of commerce can play active roles in promoting the use of information and communications technologies, as the example of the Brazilian Chamber of E-commerce--Camera-e.net--shows.(Partners: news and views)
July 1, 2003... Business associations around the world are now acting as catalysts, promoting the application of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to help modernize economic relations. A good example comes from Brazil, with the initiative of...

"Big business" helps small businesses work with technology: today, multinationals are partnering with governments and local groups to provide seed money and skills, and to improve the policy environment for small firms to take off with technology.(Partners: news and views)
July 1, 2003... It's a familiar story in developing countries around the world; an entrepreneur has an exciting idea, perhaps a simple one, but requiring the use of technology she doesn't have. She knows the idea is great--the small business finance desk at...

Helping small firms put the "e" in trade: national strategies need to concentrate on real e-issues facing small firms, so that they can benefit from information and communications technologies.(A Grassroots View)
July 1, 2003... We need more awareness of the benefits and efficiencies that information and communications technologies can bring to developing countries. This is especially true for economic development and growth of small and medium sized enterprises...

What exports say: when developing e-trade strategies, governments should be in touch with their exporters' needs. Surveys are a good place to start. Here we look at results from interviews with European and North American exporters.(Using Technology)
July 1, 2003... Forrester Research, a consulting firm specializing in e-commerce issues, interviewed over 50 executives of multinationals in 2000 and 2002. They asked about current use of the Internet and plans for the next three years, focusing on areas that...

E-winners, E-users.(Exporting Better)(Illustration)
July 1, 2003... Base: 77 export managers Do you currently use the Internet for any export support No 18% Yes 82% Source: Forrester Research, Inc. Note: Table made from pie chart. Base: 73 export managers How important will...

The changing marketplace.(International Trade Center)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Putting "E" to Work Traditional Exports in New Ways Whether exporting commodities, manufactured products or services, applying technology to your business operations can make you more competitive. Opportunities in New Export...

What small businesses need from an E-marketplace: keeping technology applications simple and focused; working collectively through business networks; and tapping into a network of global contacts for technical adaptations has helped this business support organization offer online solutions to small exporters.(Partners: news and views)
July 1, 2003... Since 1995, PEOPLink has helped small exporting firms with e-commerce applications. PEOPLink discovered that small exporters don't know how to capture the benefits of the Internet for their businesses, have high access costs, find technology...

In Southeast Asia, E-marketplaces grow: small firms in Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam are sharing online costs to widen visibility to foreign buyers and increase exports.(Exporting Better)
July 1, 2003... For most SMEs, the prohibitive cost of getting online, creating web sites and promotional materials and maintaining individual back office procedures can be overwhelming. The Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF--managed by the...

Gourmet coffee makes premium prices online: using Internet auctions to sell premium coffee generates high prices for gourmet coffee growers in developing countries. An ITC project has enduring success.(Exporting Better)(International Trade Council)
July 1, 2003... In October 1999, 315 coffee growers from different regions in Brazil participated in a "Best of Brazil" coffee contest. A jury of experienced "cuppers"--professional coffee testers--selected the ten best coffees on offer at an Internet auction....

ITC brings a trade dimension to the World Summit on the Information Society: the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), taking place in Geneva, in December 2003, and in Tunis, in November 2005, gathers leaders from government, the private sector, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and the media to address the challenges posed by the global digital divide.(ITC Speaks)(International trade council)
July 1, 2003... ITC is making a notable contribution to the Geneva phase of the WSIS process by organizing a series of linked events to help promote the trade and business dimensions of the Summit, and by bringing the voice of small and medium-sized...

Small firms make the case for e-trade: across the developing world, pioneering small firms are taking advantage of new information and communications technologies to improve their business processes and expand their export markets for traditional products and services. They are also supplying high-tech goods and services themselves.(ITC Speaks)
July 1, 2003... The case studies on the following pages provide examples of how applying technology with business flair can boost efficiency and profits--even in small firms. It's not always necessary to use the most sophisticated technologies. Whether...

Opening the E-gates for shopping in Nepal.(E-shopping)(MunchaHouse.com)(Company Profile)
July 1, 2003... The challenge for traditional retailers like MunchaHouse.com in Nepal is to develop an appropriate technological framework to offer online shopping as well as traditional shopping. By applying technology with business flair, the firm has...

Exporting ICT services from Nepal.(ITC services)(Information and Communications Technology)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
July 1, 2003... In less than 10 years, Nepal has undergone an ICT revolution. Back in 1995, the only web site managed and hosted by a Nepalese company was http://www.southasia.com Today, a search for the word 'Nepal' on Yahoo or Google search engines shows a...

South African boat builder sets sail with e-mail.(Personalized client relations)(Dean Catamarans )(Company Profile)
July 1, 2003... When Peter Dean set out to harness the benefits of the Internet to sell boats, he had no idea of just how useful e-mail could be for winning and keeping customers. Building custom boats has always been a delicate and lengthy process of...

E-distribution pays off for Philippine delicacies firm.(E-distribution)(Pinoydelikasi.com)
July 1, 2003... Pinoydelikasi.com is the first Filipino online delicacies store. It was established in 1999 to meet the demand for exotic foods and specialty items from Filipinos living outside main cities and in expatriate communities around the world. ...

Kenyan leather retailer creates e-shop front.(E-shop front)(Adelphi, The Leather Shop)(Company Profile)
July 1, 2003... Adelphi, The Leather Shop, was established in 1988 in Nairobi, Kenya and began exporting the same year. With three successful local retail outlets, the company's managing director, Nalina Rupani, thought the potential of the domestic market was...

In Hungary, tackling trust in a new service industry.(Building trust)(Company Profile)
July 1, 2003... Online versions of newspapers and magazines are legacies of the Internet boom that are here to stay. Pressflex was founded in 1998 by print journalists asked to put their own publications online, who subsequently recognized that the global...

"E" @ ITC: ITC helps developing countries put "e" to work for small exporting firms.(ITC Speaks)
July 1, 2003... Traditional business in new ways The new marketplace is becoming a virtual one, but business needs remain the same. Businesses still need access to market information and trade analysis. They need to communicate with customers, procure...

ITC publications on "E".(ITC Speaks)(Buyers Guide)
July 1, 2003... Books * Coffee: An Exporters Guide (2002] * Executive Forum 2000: Export Development in the Digital Economy (2001) * Successful Services Exporting: A Handbook for Firms. Associations and Governments (2001) * Business Guide to...

Executive forum on national export strategies held in Cancun: in keeping with the preoccupations of the Doha Development Agenda, ITC focused its annual Executive Forum debate on the theme "Business for Development: implications for Export Strategy-makers", and moved the event from its traditional home of Montreux, Switzerland to Cancun, Mexico.(ITC News)
July 1, 2003... The debate, from 6-9 September 2003, was a precursor to the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Mexican Foreign Trade Bank (BANCOMEXT), the Swedish International Cooperation Agency and the Netherlands' Centre...

El Salvador presents gift to ITC.(International Trade Council)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Maria Brizuela de Avila, the Minister of Foreign Relations of El Salvador, presented ITC with a sample of cloth dyed with traditional, organic blue indigo, on 1 July 2003. She was accompanied by members of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador...

East African services associations 'build bridges across borders'.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ITC, with the Kenyan Export Promotion Council, held its first regional networking event for service sector industry associations (Nairobi, July 2003), to help build relationships at the association level. Service exporters in linked...

What after Cancun?
July 1, 2003... For multilateral trade negotiations to be relevant to developing and transition economies, there must be a greater focus on supply-side issues. To help countries become more competitive in global markets, there is a greater need than ever for...

ICT training for Cameroon's businesswomen: ITC launched a new project to help women entrepreneurs in Cameroon expand their business regionally and internationally, using information and communication technologies (ICTs) and networks.(International trade council, Information and Communication Technology )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... ITC will focus on building sustainable training and counselling services for women entrepreneurs on how to apply practical e-solutions in their business strategies and improve the efficiency of ther operations. Between July and October...

Forum web site offers more to readers.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Since 2001, print readers of Forum have been able to turn to the online version of the magazine for trade development news and issues. After two-and-a-half years of steady development, Forum's trilingual web site has a lot more to offer, with...

New trade training network for Central America and Caribbean.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... Public and private sector trade trainers from eight Central American and Caribbean states formed a new trade training association for the region. This is the result of an ITC trade training project funded by the Governments of Norway and...

Trade development archive.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The web site's fully searchable archive of the 18 latest Forum issues is an excellent tool for researchers interested in trade development issues, or for readers looking for an article they read in print over the past four years. Articles are...

New readers.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2003... The Forum web site's readership has more than doubled over the past year, and is now attracting between 40,000 and 60,000 visits per month. The web site has 180 distinct incoming links from 40 countries. The number of links pointing to us is up...

International Trade Bulletins.(ITC Periodicals)
July 1, 2003... ITC produces a variety of international trade bulletins which complement ITC's books and technical papers. To subscribe, contact the relevant sections of ITC listed below. * Market News Service. Price and market information for seven...