The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Africa Investor (Ai) are uniting to launch a digitally enabled eTrade initiative to empower the digitisation of 5,000,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.
Declared at the second Africa investor Global Trade Organization Leaders’ Summit by ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO and Hubert Danso, Chairman of Africa investor, the mission of the campaign is to quicken the digitization and intra African and worldwide market access for a great many African SMEs, on the side of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
By ICC’s endeavours to make technology work for all. Africa investors (Ai), AfricaPLC modern eTrade and Fintech commercial platform, ICC and Africa investor will mobilise an overall global organization of multinational companies, African Corporates, chambers of commerce, media organisations and academic institutions, to give market access, tools and training programs to digitise SMEs in Africa.
ICC and Africa investor(Ai), will work with their worldwide network of businesses and local chambers of commerce to roll out the initiative through AfricaPLC, as the initiatives digitally empowered eTrade platform, to associate African SMEs with business openings in Africa. In its underlying stage, the platform will work as a registry for SMEs, to saddle the maximum capacity of e-commerce under the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is set to start in January 2021.
The AfricaPLC platform will likewise establish the Digital Sustainable Procurement Champions Community (DSPCC) – a collection of driving global and African organisations working on the African region – to secure and guarantee the digitisation of SMEs within their supply chains.
Mr Denton said: “We are extremely proud to announce ICC’s partnership with Africa investor (Ai) to digitise five million SMEs in Africa. In the face of persisting the economic consequences of COVID-19, African governments, businesses, chambers of commerce, and regional organisations must unite to maximise the benefits of the digital economy for all. From women- and youth-led businesses to local start-ups and entrepreneurs, this campaign will enable all SMEs in Africa to grow sustainably, reach new markets, and build back better from the pandemic.”
Working with African business and chambers pioneers, the campaign will create strategy proposals and policy recommendations to help governments, partners, and policymakers, make informed policy decisions to extend sustainable developments, digital incorporation and eTrade openings in support of the AfCFTA. The campaign will encourage admittance to trade and supply chain finance, digital logistics, trade data, as well as capacity building and training tools for SMEs across Africa.
Hubert Danso, CEO and Chairman of Africa investor, said:
“We are delighted to partner with the ICC to launch the ICC-Ai AfricaPLC Digitise 5 million SME’s Campaign and launch the AfricaPLC eTrade platform, in collaboration with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, to support African SME’s trade digitally from January 1 2021, the official operational launch of the AfCFTA. This innovative African-global private sector eTrade partnership directly supports the pursuit of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the African Continental Free Trade Area and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.”
The campaign will be upheld by the Ai eTrade Institute and ICC’s Center of Entrepreneurship, a futuristic initiative to plan and prepare the up and coming age of entrepreneurs around the globe. With regional hubs in Istanbul and Beirut, ICC will declare future seats in Africa and South America in 2021.
