Wednesday Apr 24, 2024
Wednesday Apr 24, 2024
Monday, 9 May 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Public and private sector Organising Committee
The World Export Development Forum (WEDF) is a unique global platform dedicated to supporting trade-led development.
WEDF provides an issue-focused setting for policymakers, trade and investment support institutions and business leaders to gain practical understanding in trade competitiveness. It also provides unparalleled opportunities for business operators to network and meet with potential partners. Organised by the International Trade Centre (ITC), the only United Nations organisation with an exclusive focus on assisting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to internationalise, WEDF is dedicated to the development of SMEs.
WEDF will bring together hundreds of policymakers, business leaders and officials from Trade And Investment Support Institutions (TISIs) and international organisations to discuss how to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth through trade. A series of business-to-business match-making events will also be held over the two-day meeting, allowing participants to create business linkages across sectors and countries.
The theme of WEDF 2016 ‘Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change’, reflects the importance ITC and the Government of Sri Lanka attach to the role of enterprises in trade and job creation. In Sri Lanka and elsewhere, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of the economy, representing over 90% of all businesses and contributing to two-thirds of global employment.
WEDF 2016 will focus on hot-button issues shaping business competitiveness, from emerging mega-regional trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the opportunities and risks presented by the rise of the digital economy. Participants will also confront the issue of standards, another crucial element for entering new markets and achieving trade success.
Conference Theme – Trade for Success: Connect, Compete, Change
Connect
As mega-regional agreements such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership emerge, the voice of business is essential to shape competitiveness strategies. Trade facilitation and logistics remain key drivers of improved connectivity.
Compete
Digital technologies are reshaping how we trade, opening up new opportunities for entrepreneurs to compete in the global economy.
Entrepreneurs can reach new consumers around the world directly, and integrate more quickly and higher up the value chain thanks to e-commerce and technologies such as 3D printing.
Change
Standards have become a gateway for entrepreneurs to enter international markets. Certification of standards and regulations may include technical specifications required by producers in the supply chain or health, social or environmental standards demanded by consumers or governments.
The tourism sector is an example, as companies adjust their offers for a tailored experience that is both authentic and sustainable for local communities.
2016 event structure
The WEDF plenary sessions bring together major thought leaders in business, government and academia to address these issues.
Practical ‘in focus’ and ‘how to’ sessions are matched with each plenary topic – bringing business cases, ITC tools and advisory services to help businesses take advantage of new trends and put recommendations into action.
B2B matchmaking, based on joint ITC-EDB research, facilitates business opportunities between companies in strong Sri Lankan export sectors.
A Sri Lankan business exhibition, company visits and quality management training complement this unique program designed to “talk business, and do business.”
Plenary sessions topics
When Regional Blocs Cross Oceans
Digital Doors to Trade
Standards, a Gateway to Global Markets
Authenticity: The New Tourism Destination
In-focus sessions
Trade Facilitation and Logistics in Regional Integration
Young Entrepreneurs Enable Innovation
How-to workshops
How to Go Digital
Services for Women Entrepreneurs
Managing Logistics in the Supply Chain
Young Entrepreneurs: From Ideas to Markets
B2B meetings
Within the WEDF 2016 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, ITC and EDB will organize facilitated B2B meetings enabling opportunities for companies around the world to meet potential business partners.
Individual matchmaking meetings between high potential buyers/sellers will be arranged by the WEDF team to meet the addressed business needs for each company. These will allow participants to explore new business opportunities taking advantage of the strategic position of Sri Lanka at the crossroads of important maritime routes to the Indian Ocean.
B2Bs will cater to the following sectors:
For more information, please contact ITC Sri Lanka B2B Meetings Coordinator Torek Farhadi at [email protected]
Previous events
Last year’s event in Doha Qatar drew around 700 participants from 92 registered countries, including 26 LDCs. The B2B sessions yielded around 90 declarations of intent to do business worth a total of $ 80 million.
The prospective deals cut across sectors, from bottled water and juice production to distribution services. Most of the deals were for South-South trade and investment. Five trade promotion organisations – from Georgia, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Vietnam and Egypt – signed agreements of cooperation in export development. Previous editions of WEDF have been held in Kigali, Rwanda (2014), Jakarta, Indonesia (2012), Istanbul, Turkey (2011) and Chongqing, China (2010).
