Global technology company, Alibaba.com has signed a Channel Partnership agreement with World Trade Centre Accra, a member of the Strategic Initiatives Limited Group.
The agreement is Alibaba.com’s first entry into the sub-Saharan Africa market as a leading B2B marketplace, offering a wholesale platform for millions of buyers and sellers around the world to transact business.
The launch of Alibaba.com’s first channel partnership in sub-Saharan Africa in cooperation with Strategic Initiatives Limited and World Trade Centre Accra presents a unique pathway for Ghanaian companies to access new opportunities in the global market.
A statement issued by MrEdem Kofi Yevutsey, Executive Director, World Trade Centre, Accra yesterday announcing the agreement said, Alibaba.com’spresence in Ghana would be launched on the October 12, 2022, at the World Trade Centre Accra as part of a two-day exhibition to showcase Ghana’s export potential.
The entry of Alibaba.com into Ghana offers global business opportunities for Ghanaian Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), manufacturers and exporters.
With Alibaba.com’s Request For Quote (RFQ) service, Ghanaian exporters would receive information on buyers searching for products, and be able to contact them first.
“Potentially, the biggest winners of Alibaba.com’s entry into Ghana will be SMEs and large corporate companies operating in the Non-Traditional Export (NTE) space.
It will enable Ghana’s National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), which seeks to grow the country’s NTEs from $2.8 billion in 2020 to $25.3 billion by 2029. Other initiatives such as the One District One Factory (1D1F) Initiative and YouStart Program could gain massively from a partnership with Alibaba.com,” the statement added.
Additionally, Alibaba.com also provides critical support and training for SMEs and large corporate companies to build successful e-commerce business models.
“The training and capacity-building programmes conducted by Alibaba.com have helped prepare companies worldwide to enhance product and service offerings and gain access to global markets.
These programs, now available in Ghana, will build on the capacity of Ghanaian companies to enter new markets and also directly participate in Alibaba.com’s groundbreaking online trade shows,” the statement added.
Currently, Alibaba.com’sprovides services to 40 million buyers from more than 200 countries globally with more than 400,000 enquiries daily.
“By working closely together, government, industry players and the team at Strategic Initiatives Limited can leverage the benefits of Alibaba.com to position Ghana to take advantage of the new opportunities being availed by the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement,” the statement noted.