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Online E-Commerce Forum 2020, organized online and free of charge this year due to the coronavirus, hosted important companies of the e-commerce and e-export ecosystem from the UK and different countries. Turkish companies came together with companies from all over the world in a virtual environment.
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ISTANBUL (TR) - International Online World E-Commerce Forum, organized with the main business partnership of WORLDEF and Işbank Turkey, was held in a virtual environment with the organization partnership of the UK Ministry of Commerce and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) on Saturday, May 16. The forum, supported by the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, was held online through DealRoom application this year due to the coronavirus. Bringing together a large number of companies from different countries, 5,642 companies from 10 countries, especially the UK, participated in the forum. Speaking at the forum where the new era after coronavirus is discussed, WORLDEF President Ömer Nart emphasized that the concepts of e-commerce and e-export will be heard more frequently in the new era after the coronavirus.
In the forum, which attracted great attention from the stakeholders in the e-commerce and re-export ecosystem, 34 experts from different countries of the world took part in the field of e-export and e-commerce. From payment systems to logistics, from the European market to changing consumer behaviour due to the pandemic, many topics were covered in 15 different sessions. In the forum, which was attended by 5,642 companies from 10 countries, especially in the UK, all participants also had the opportunity to message and chat with each other in virtual rooms. In this way, while the participant companies were given a real activity experience, Turkish manufacturers were matched with the marketplaces and supplier companies from different countries and brought together. 2,552 collaboration meetings were held with live video interviews.
Speaking at the opening speech of the forum, WORLDEF President Ömer Nart said, “As part of the coronavirus measures, we decided to organize the World E-Commerce Forum free of charge and online for all participating companies. I would like to thank the partners, speakers and participants who contributed to our forum.”
Nart said, “Despite the devastating effects of the measures implemented in the Covid-19 pandemic process worldwide, as WORLDEF, this year, the world will continue to develop the e-export and e-commerce ecosystem, continue collaborations and solidarity and contribute positively to the networks that companies need more in this process. We made the E-Commerce Forum free for all participating companies. The forum, the subject of which is the UK e-commerce market, has an important re-export potential for both countries. It also provides a great opportunity for companies that want to increase their cross-border e-commerce capacity.”
“New things will be said in the economy, trade, social life and politics after Covid-19; everything will be arranged according to the new norm. In this new period, we will hear more e-commerce and more e-export concepts” Omer Nart said, the report prepared by the academic establishment of Covid-19's effects on ecosystems will be published in Fortune magazine, and stressed that Turkey will be shared with all participants in June. Nart said, “The number of our forum participants we have prepared for months has exceeded currently 5 thousand. This is our main partner on the occasion Turkey Business Bank, its organizational partners are the British Ministry of Commerce and the Turkey Exporters Assembly, I offer my exhibitors and gratitude to our partner media”
Judith Slater, British Consul General in Istanbul, who attended the forum online from her home, also gave information about Turkey-UK e-commerce relations. Slater stated that the new things that emerged due to coronavirus cover all sectors and that Turkey's digital potential, which is very attractive for foreign capital, is very high. Such activities are very useful for establishing cooperation between the two countries, the consul general said.
In his speech, Slater spoke of the UK's economic size, highlighting the country's e-commerce potential. Slater said: "e-commerce in the UK is growing by 10 per cent every year. This rate will rise above forecasts in 2021. Online consumers in the UK adapted themselves to e-commerce very early on. The UK market is in a very ideal spot for e-commerce. We are also the ideal country for innovative technology. The language advantage also makes the UK the major actor in e-commerce in Europe. The UK is the second country after Sweden in terms of the prevalence of cashless activity. E-commerce firms backed by the government”
British Consul General Slater said that the British government has prepared support packages to combat the coronavirus pandemic; He also explained that tax exemptions and grants are offered. Judith Slater also pointed out that they supported Turkish e-commerce companies with their team, who wanted to invest in the UK.
Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Alderman Emma Edhem talked about opportunities for Turkish producers in the UK. Stating that e-commerce is an important area for developing a business strategy, Edhem stated that many companies in Europe have moved their headquarters to England and said, “England can appeal to 500 million consumers in Europe despite Brexit. As the market diversity is high in the UK, customers are easily accessible. The easiest country to do business in the region. In this sense, we are at 7th place in the world. Our country has 65 million potential customers. According to the global innovation index, we are in second place among the G20 countries.”
Touching on international competition, Edhem said that companies that want to operate in the UK can compete with other companies if they meet high standards. Alderman Emma Edhem, stating that the activities of companies that carry out very well in Turkey, stressing that they can get very good results in the UK. Edhem also mentioned the activities of the association; He stated that they support companies as an association in the field of e-commerce.
At the end of the forum, the famous Scottish artist Paul Dwyer, who voiced his unique style with Turkish tunes, gave an online concert from his home. Dwyer's online performance has boosted all participants in the pandemic process.
World E-Commerce Forum 2020 would be held at Istanbul Shangri-la Hotel on April 15, 2020, this year; however, it was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Organization partners decided to organize the forum online. The forum with the online video-conferencing application DealRoom was the first online event to be organized on this scale.
Some of the companies participating in the Online World E-Commerce Forum 2020 event are as follows; Digital Partners, London Bridge Project, AliExpress, Magnacca, Fruugo, ChannelEngine, Elearning Marketplace, Propars, Sefamerve, EY Parthenon, UND, PTS. The media sponsors of the forum are; TRT Haber, TRT World, Reuters, Turkish British, World, Sabah, Hürriyet, Ecommerce News, B2Press, perakende.org.
About World E-Commerce Forum
World E-Commerce Forum, organized by the Business Bank of Turkey WORLDEF and main business partnerships; Turkey is an international conference which was organized in order to contribute to the vision of making a regional e-commerce center. The World E-Commerce Forum, which has held the pulse of the sector in e-export and e-commerce axis with its international and local speakers specialized in its sector since 2017, undertakes the mission of providing contributions to local retail brands and SMEs with its international network opportunity to facilitate e-export.
Contact: Tülay Genç | [email protected] | +31 30 799 6022
