UPS & SME10x host first E-commerce masterclass for SMEs

UPS and SME10X played host to the first of a series of e-commerce master classes aimed at supporting small businesses in the UAE. The event brought together top speakers from the industry to help SMEs with their e-commerce strategies in 2020 including payments, technology, logistics and marketing among others.

Renzo Bravo, Head of Strategy and Marketing across ISMEA, UPS opened the event with a message that as UPS step up their support for ecommerce, these events would help them address some of the challenges that SMEs face while setting up ecommerce.

In his session, Hadi Raad, Vice President & Head of Digital Solutions, Central Europe, Middle East, & Africa at Visa shared some interesting statistics citing that MENA was the fastest growing geography in ecommerce in 2019 globally with UAE being the powerhouse, growing 29% year on year. Raad shared some of the innovative online payment solutions that Visa offer ecommerce businesses including tokenizing online payment.

Other speakers included Mohammed Sajjad, VP E-commerce & Digital, Azadea Group who works with some of the larger brick and mortar retailers to help them prepare and launch their ecommerce platforms. He shared some of his guides and tips on setting up and encouraged business owners to focus on the products rather than the technology and make it convenient for their customers rather than just looking for the incremental sale.

Scott Ellis, Retail & Consumer Industry Lead, IBM shared some of areas of technology changes and how these could help ecommerce businesses get to know their customers and offer them the right product at the right time. His session was followed by practical sessions on setting up logistics (UPS) and digital marketing from House of Social.

The most interactive session was with Sarah Jones, CEO and Founder, Sprii.com who shared her personal experience and tips of setting up, building and creating $10 million ecommerce company.

The final session discussed tips on setting up ecommerce without just ticking boxes. The key message was to be where the customers were and making sure that you differentiate and focus on active customer acquisition.

With small businesses making up more than 94% of all enterprises and providing more than 86% of the private sector workforce, they are the backbone of the local economy. UPS’s recent study on the impact and trends of e-commerce growth on the UAE small business sector can be found here.

If you missed this session, there will be another masterclass on 16 March with a new line-up of speakers.