Alliance for eTrade Development II Officially Launches

The Alliance aims to increase the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries engaging in international e-commerce as well as the volume of developing country digital trade transactions. To achieve this goal, the Alliance will help developing country governments understand and improve the policy and regulatory enabling environments conducive to SME e-commerce. The Alliance will also support SMEs in developing skills and gaining access to tools for international e-commerce. In addition, the Alliance aims to enhance SMEs access to finance and digital payments by working with FinTechs and AI-driven identity technologies to develop new payment and finance solutions.

Leveraging the proliferation of mobile devices across Alliance key markets in Southeast Asia (i.e., Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) and Sub-Saharan Africa (i.e., Nigeria and Kenya), Element will demonstrate how its mobile identity platform can drive financial inclusion and strengthen value chains for both suppliers and consumers.  Building on existing partnerships and infrastructure developed with leading financial institutions in these countries, Element will strengthen farmers’ access to digital financial services for improved supply chains and cash flows and deploy a scalable, secure, and sustainable MSME payment solution to ensure more online merchants are able to transact in the global market.

“Strengthening SMEs ability to access global markets is essential for the development of the e-commerce sector across Africa and Asia,” said Barbara Iyayi, Chief Growth Officer of Element. “By meeting both SMEs and consumers where they are, Element is uniquely positioned to support more efficient digital onboarding and streamline payments for real-time e-commerce.”

Moreover, the Alliance will build and deliver last mile logistics solutions in developing countries to improve trade facilitation, and to support inclusive trade by engaging with USAID missions and local leaders to promote women-led and rural SMEs in cross-border e-commerce.

Element’s mobile identity platform is particularly well suited to solving the last mile logistics challenges confronted by The Alliance, ensuring the partnership can help extend financial inclusion to the consumers and SMEs in greatest need. By providing enabling digital utilities like eKYC solutions for customer onboarding and identity verification, coupled with secure and scalable biometric authentication for all SME transactions, Element will support the Alliance’s goals for scalable impact on digital trade in the development context.

About eTrade

The Alliance for eTrade Development II, addresses the toughest challenges for developing country firms, particularly underserved, remote and women-led MSMEs, to engage in e-commerce. The Alliance works across five workstreams: (1) policy and enabling environment, (2) skills development, (3) trade facilitation and logistics, (4) access to finance and digital payment, and (5) inclusive trade.

Work in these various components will roll out across Southeast Asia (especially Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) and South Asia (especially India), Sub-Saharan Africa (especially Nigeria and Kenya), and Latin America (especially Mexico, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Central America), and will be focused especially on underserved forms such as women-led and rural and remote MSMEs.

About Element

As the world demands digital delivery of products and services, Element is delivering a persistent, private, and portable unique digital identity designed with intention. Element - the first modern artificial intelligence company focused on digital identity - laid the foundations for deploying deep learning on mobile devices. Our universal solution learns directly from natural features, ensuring mobile identity for anyone, anywhere.

We partner with forward-thinking financial institutions, governments, and healthcare organizations to transform how they deliver their services. Our partners choose to work with us because we deliver faster access without compromise – securely connecting anyone to any service while retaining the right to privacy. Together, we’re building a frictionless future. Learn more at www.elementresearch.com.