What Is the Future of Online Shopping?

Top Photo Group/Thinkstock

UK-based Retail Gazette interviews James Roper, Chairman and Founder of IMRG.  Here's what he has to say about cross-border options available to retailers.  One of the questions he addresses is: What is the future of online shopping?

Read the entire interview:  Cross-border trade Q&A, James Roper, Chairman and Founder of IMRG

Some resources mentioned in the article that are worth a look:

• Postcode Anywhere (UK-based)
• Alibaba (China-based; name misspelled in the article)
• Rakuten (Japan-based)
• Zalando - (UK-based)
• Argos (UK-based)

Cross-Border Trade Poised to Grow for Small Businesses

Fuse/Thinkstock

HSBC has set aside U.S. $1 billion in loans for small and medium-sized businesses that are expanding internationally (China, Brazil and Hong Kong, for example).  To pre-qualify, you must run an established business that has annual revenue between $3 million and $500 million, but may or may not have dipped their toes into the international markets.

Head of HSBC's U.S. Business Banking Mark Luppi says the following:

"Based on the research we've done, 27% of small businesses are doing some sort of cross-border [transaction].  We expect that to grow to 40% over the next 12 to 24 months."

Read entire article here.

Training Female Entrepreneurs on Cross Border Trade

iStockphoto/Thinkstock

The Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce (TWCC) has launched a project called “Enhancing women entrepreneur’s competitiveness and opportunities to benefit from regional and international trade."  The goal is to support Women in the Informal Cross Border Trade (WICBT) to meet market requirements.  The TWCC is implementing this project with supervision from the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO).

The program will provide the necessary support and guidance to help women in business flourish!

About TWCC:

The Tanzania Women Chamber of Commerce is an umbrella organization uniting sectoral business women associations, companies, and individuals who have agreed to form a united front to advocate, lobby and network for the well being of their businesses and prosperity of women entrepreneurs. Current membership stands at 6 associations and 20 companies; all together about 2000 members. 

Read all the news here.

Related helpful resources:

Women Entrepreneurs GROW Global

Enterprising Women 2012