Women-Owned Businesses in Cross-Border E-Commerce: A Diagnostic Toolkit was funded by USAID and US Department of State and informed by private sector best practices, including input from the Global Innovation Forum. The objective of this toolkit is to help Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) policymakers gain a better understanding of the challenges to competitiveness and growth for women-owned e-commerce businesses when trading within economies and across borders and assess their own support for these businesses.
It is generally accepted that engagement with online social networks is useful for the success of an e-commerce business, given that 98 percent of digital consumers globally use social media platforms. Women entrepreneurs can leverage social media effectively to access new opportunities, as evidenced by a Peruvian based startup Culqi (Global Innovation Forum 2019).
The success of women-owned micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) is critical to the growth of all APEC economies, and cross-border e-commerce represents one area for potential growth. Yet, women-owned MSMEs face both enabling environment and cross-border specific challenges that prevent new and continued engagement in cross-border e-commerce.
To explore the full toolkit, visit: https://www.apec.org/Publications/2020/10/Women-Owned-Business-in-Cross-Border-E-Commerce.