A new
survey, Global International Trade and Findings from Nigeria, has
disclosed that most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) leverage on
online tools to market their products...
This new International Trade Report from
The Future of Business survey was conducted as a collborative project
involving the World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development and Facebook.
According to the survey, all businesses
have a menu of digital tools to create global connections across the
world. The report showcased how online tools have played an important
role in SMEs’ ability to trade internationally and grow. A new module,
the Trade Report, was added to the Future of Business survey from March
to May 2017 and almost 50,000 SMEs responded. In summary, SMEs that
trade internationally are more confident and more likely to increase
jobs.
Launched in February 2016, with 22
countries. Today, it includes 42. Since January 2017, Czech Republic,
Ecuador, Hungary, Nigeria, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Taiwan,
and China have been included.
The 42 countries represent economies accounting for 40 per cent of the world’s population and 73 per cent of global GDP.
To date, more than 218,000 Facebook
business page owners, from both younger and longer-standing companies
across a wide range of sectors, have taken the monthly survey and it has
caused nearly a 60 per cent increase since January 2017.
According to the recent international
trade report results, which is consistent with past results, SMEs that
trade internationally are more confident and more likely to increase
jobs
Traders are five percentage points more
confident in their businesses, and 10 percentage points more likely to
have added jobs in the last six months than non-traders.
For exporting SMEs, trade is at the core
of their business models and success. Among exporting SMEs, four in 10
report that more than 25 per cent of their revenue comes from
international trade. Exporters rely on online tools to trade
internationally.
Nearly half of exporting SMEs (45 per
cent) report that more than 75 per cent of their international sales
depend on online tools.
Fifty-eight per cent of exporters agree that using online tools for selling internationally has increased their revenue.
However, international trade is a challenge to SMEs, and only a minority of SMEs trade internationally
Furthermore, almost half of exporters (48 per cent) identified “selling to foreign countries” as a challenge.
The report also stated that The Future
of Business Survey would help businesses succeed in the new mobile
economy, but “we need to understand their current environment. We
believe better business insights can inform decision-making at all
levels and help businesses grow.
“That is why, in September 2016, the
OECD, World Bank and Facebook collaborated to launch the Future of
Business Survey, a new source of information on small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs).
“The Future of Business Survey is a unique window into the new digital and mobile economy.
The partnership was a natural fit: the OECD and World Bank understand what questions to ask small businesses”.
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