BDC Helps Businesses to Buy, Sell, Train Online
smeXchange bolstered with region’s first e-commerce/e-learning facility
E-commerce – the buying and selling of goods over the Internet – has taken a giant leap forward for local enterprises in Trinidad and Tobago thanks to a new initiative from the Business Development Company (BDC) Ltd.
On March 26, 2009 the BDC unveiled its reloaded business-to-business (B2B) web portal – smeXchange.com – which now includes a facility for businesses to create their own e-commerce web pages.
“A web-presence is perhaps the most cost-effective means for advertising, generating business and reaching new customers today,” said BDC President Albert Chow at the upgraded smeXchange.com launch at Gaston Court in Chaguanas. “In the age of hugely successful e-commerce operations like Amazon.com we at the BDC felt we needed to bring the smeXchange.com to that level. And we have.”
Another crucial new facility available through the B2B portal is online training courses or e-learning:
“Companies are no longer willing to lose employees for two-days to training courses” explained Damie Sinanan, the BDC’s Manager of Trade Assistance. “E-learning gives them the ability to partake of valuable efficiency and productivity-boosting programmes without a considerable loss in man-hours.”
smeXchange.com was created to not only give local enterprises an online presence but to also build a gateway through which potential business opportunity web traffic could be directed to Trinidad and Tobago’s companies. Since its launch in January 2006 the smeXchange.com website has grown steadily to nearly 1,000 registered members. Besides showcasing their products and services the reloaded portal now will allow member enterprises to do business on the Web.
“With these new e-commerce and e-learning facilities smeXchange.com is offering local enterprises cutting edge services that no other site in the Caribbean does,” Mr Sinanan added.
Speaking at the launch, Quinten Questel – Managing Director of Digital Business Ltd, outlined the smeXchange.com’s other new features. These include a discussion forum, Skype for online verbal communication, updated user guides and videos, user statistics and a Spanish translation of the B2B portal.
Brian Linton – Chief Technology Officer at Garnet Technologies Inc – gave a real-time demonstration of the e-commerce facility, guiding a participant through the relatively simple process of setting up a personalised web page for online transactions.
Giving a stirring feature address on the value of web-based business and the vast potential for local enterprises doing business online, Sacha Cosmetics Ltd Managing Director Kama Maharaj told the audience:
“We see it as an opportunity to build a global brand in the virtual world.”
However, Mr Maharaj cautioned that setting up a quality website alone was not enough and B2B portals like smeXchange.com were vital to ensure that potential customers and clients could be able to find local companies in the clutter and competition on the Internet.
“Your site is potentially your best advertisement, but it’s the only advertisement you have to advertise,” he said.