By Olabisi Olaleye
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”.