ITC's e-Trade Strategy

Put simply, ITC’s role is to ensure that developing country businesses can compete in the new digital economy. ITC’s comparative advantage does not lie either in devising global regulatory standards or in creating telecommunications infrastructures. There are other public- and private-sector agencies with the knowledge, skills and resources required to be effective.

ITC will impart an e-dimension to the following areas where it possesses comparative advantage:

• Understanding developing country importers and exporters. ITC’s traditional strength lies in its understanding of the needs of importers and exporters from its client countries. It has consistently focused on providing practical, results-oriented assistance to meet the needs of businesses in these countries.
  
  
• Working with trade support institutions. ITC has in-depth experience of working with a wide variety of trade support institutions in the public, semi-public and private sectors. These relationships can be used to good effect in developing e-trade and supply-chain management.
  
  
• Building networks. ITC establishes effective product delivery networks by leveraging its links to international professional bodies, academic institutions, centres of excellence, development agencies, and commercial vendors of services, software and equipment. These networks can be used as leading sources of independent information and advice to its partners.
  
  
• Enhancing sector-specific knowledge. ITC has accumulated a wealth of knowledge in specific industry and service sectors. E-trade provides a means for eliminating inefficiencies and improving the effectiveness of traditional value chains, and for generating new business possibilities. At the same time, e-trade gives buyers and sellers the opportunity to increase their market knowledge and access.
  

 

Implementation

The ITC strategy for e-facilitated trade development is based on three components:

Awareness raising. ITC will raise awareness among its clients by demonstrating potential positive and negative impacts of e-trade. To do this, it will:

• exchange information on the use of digital technology for trade: latest developments, opportunities, benefits and limitations;

• develop partner country capacities to understand the business implications of advances in information and communication technology, and national competitiveness issues arising from them, by working with local decision-makers and influencers; and

• act as a catalyst by organizing regional conferences which bring together all stakeholders to share ideas and best practices.

Building knowledge. E-trade is knowledge intensive. ITC will assist in the acquisition of information and the creation of knowledge as a precondition for e-trade success. To do this, it will:

• establish a knowledge base of best practices and new techniques from around the world;

• add the perspective of developing and transition economies to these best practices and techniques, improve the clarity of this information and adapt its format to ITC clients; and

• provide information, training and advice to help clients assess new technologies and associated business practices.