Like any other part of the world, there’s been a rapid adoption of digital services in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where the value of cross-border trade between the Middle East and the rest of the world is estimated at $1 trillion.
But according to Marius Ciavola, CEO at Dubai-based business-to-business (B2B) eMarketplace Tradeling, less than 1% of that trade is happening online, presenting a “massive” opportunity to digitize trade processes in the regional market.
He projects that that 1% will probably increase to about 4% to 5% within the next four to five years, leading to about $40 to $50 billion worth of trade converting to digital. Tradeling would like to play a role in driving that digital adoption, he said, all without necessarily reinventing the wheel.
Instead, the digital marketplace, launched in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic, is focused on meeting the core needs of local business buyers in MENA, top of which is the limited access to global wholesale sellers.
“The MENA region is more of an import and re-export market so access to global supply is very important, and we see that there is a [strong] appetite for businesses to go digital,” Ciavola told PYMNTS in an interview.
Today, the online marketplace offers over 1.2 million unique products on its platform across 14 different categories from sellers originating from 55 different countries and attracts more than 500,000 unique monthly visitors to its platform.
See also: B2B eCommerce Platform Tradeling Expands in MENA Region
Demand is more specific to the MENA region, however, with business buyers predominantly based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as in the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area which includes Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain.
ePayment Solutions, Trade Finance
Streamlining the business buying process and providing access to trade finance and digitized payment solutions are other ways Tradeling is setting up MENA buyers for success, Ciavola said.
As part of those efforts, the UAE-based company recently launched its first collaboration with Amazon Payment Services (AWS) to broaden the payment options available to its customers and strengthen Tradeling’s credit offering.
Read more: B2B eCommerce Firm Tradeling Teams With Amazon Payment Services
“With Amazon Payment services, customers can now make purchases using their credit cards and pay back in three to 36-month installments, sometimes at zero or low interest rates,” he explained.
Read also: Tradeling, MODIFI Partner on Trade Financing
The B2B firm focused on connecting international sellers with local demand also offers bank transfer payments and cash on delivery for smaller shops and businesses and has rolled out a credit facility enabling underserved small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) — they make up 66% of Tradeling’s customer base — to access revolving credit for sellers on its platform.
Learn more: Online Marketplace Tradeling Offers Revolving Credit For SMBs
Seamless, Frictionless Purchasing Experience
Unlike the business-to-consumer (B2C) space, Caviola said data gathered upstream in the B2B space is “very rational,” helping Tradeling customers to make better informed purchasing decisions.
“The data could be anything right from their behavior on the platform, from the searches that they make, from the information that they provide as they come on board, the requests for quotations that they make, and the various interactions that [buyers and sellers have] on the platform,” he noted.
Leveraging that data, he added, enables customers to easily find products and purchase them in a more seamless manner.
Overall, the firm is leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning as part of efforts to offer a B2B online marketplace experience that is on par with the frictionless and seamless experience available in the B2C space.
As Ciavola said: “[With Tradeling], a customer can get access to trade finance within a few clicks and without leaving the platform, and they can carry on with their purchasing and checkout without payment and get their goods delivered in no time.”
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