Leveraging Ethiopia’s E-commerce Will Enhance, Facilitate Foreign Trade, Says Expert

Addis Ababa November 2/2024 (ENA) Ethiopia’s effort to leverage E-commerce widely will enhance foreign trade and facilitate the process of the exchange of trade, Dan Liu Senior Advisor at Alibaba Global Initiatives said.

Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) in partnership with Digital Transformation Ethiopia Association (DTEA) is to establish a global digital talent academy (training center) the first in Africa thereby playing a significant role to foster the implementation of E-commerce in Ethiopia.

Speaking to ENA, during the establishment of the academy, the senior advisor said establishment of the academy will be of paramount importance in producing skilled human power to support Ethiopia’s effort of digitization and e-commerce.  

Ethiopia has taken significant steps to bolster its digital economy by implementing policies and investing in digital infrastructure particularly, the country is improving the regulatory environment to support e-commerce and digital trade.

This e-commerce is anticipated to  further open up the economy to foreign players and contribute to sector growth through a legally mandated structure, it was indicated.

Steadfast utilization of e-commerce will significantly contribute to accelerate the country’s foreign trade in reaching the global market destination including China, Liu stated.

For instance, the senior advisor pointed out that Ethiopian coffee exporters are currently benefiting from exporting value added coffee through e-commerce.

Following the signing of MoU on electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) by Alibaba, in collaboration with the United Nations and the government of Ethiopia it brings about a remarkable achievement in the sector, he elaborated.

Thus, Liu emphasized that the digital technology like eWTP is helpful in advancing Ethiopia’s export products both in volume and diversity.

Furthermore, he added that allowing single individuals or any company owner to engage in global and multinational businesses is a valuable significance of e-commerce.

The e-commerce and digital economy will take over the global and multinational businesses, he stated, adding that Ethiopia is eying that.

Global digital talent Academy (training center) is the outcome of the joint efforts by Alibaba Group initiatives and the DTEA, he said, adding that DTEA is a strong partner of Ethiopia that enables Alibaba Group work in collaboration.