TradeWaltz Took the Stage at APEC Workshops Demonstrating Support for Entrepreneurs and SMEs Entering or Expanding in Trade Business.

TradeWaltz took the stage at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshops demonstrating support for entrepreneurs and SMEs entering or expanding in trade business. 
~Aim for a time where hidden products in the world can be globally shared~ 

Trade Waltz Inc.

TradeWaltz Inc., operator of the trading information connection platform (hereafter referred to as Trading PF) TradeWaltz, took the stage as a Japanese PF at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (hereafter referred to as APEC) workshops held on September 7th, September 15th, and October 1st to promote trade business to regional entrepreneurs and SMEs. By promoting trade of not only large corporations, but regional entrepreneurs and SMEs, as well, we proposed moving closer to the “future of trade” where global trading is something we all can do and good products can be quickly shipped around the world. 

▶ APEC documentation page: https://bit.ly/3lcnItW (TradeWaltz presentation is third from the bottom) 

■ A tough battle for start-ups and SMEs entering the greatly increasing global trade market 

Statistics by both the International Labor Organization and the World Bank show that 90% of production and 70% of employment comes from small and medium–sized businesses. Also, 70% of growing markets is produced by these SMEs. This makes up over 60% of the GDP of developed countries according to the OECD. 

With trading, though, it is completely different. According to research by the World Bank and UN, the global trade market increases by nearly 4% a year. However, the OECD reports that only a third of export trade worldwide comes from small and medium-sized businesses. That number drops even lower, to 18%, in industrialized countries.  

■ The 4 hurdles faced by start-ups and SMEs entering the trading business 

Even now, many trading transactions are done using paper, fax, and PDFs. In Japan, the procedures for one import or export takes 72 hours and costs 648USD (World Bank calculation). A large office or warehouse is required to store and maintain all of these documents. Not to mention a certain level of knowledge is required to prepare and process the documents. This creates the four hurdles (time, money, storage, knowledge) for small and medium-sized companies with limited resources including funds and personnel. Looking from a different point-of-view, though, if these hurdles didn’t exist, it would truly open up trade for small and medium-sized businesses resulting in many new players entering and being active in trade that could potentially transform the growing markets. 

■ TradeWaltz, one of the solutions, is being noticed by international societies, starting with APEC 

Based on actual results in the past, the TradeWaltz platform is able to cut trading procedure time and costs by over 44% while also allowing remote work, smaller offices and warehouses, and potential for applications to be checked digitally in the future. It could be said that it is a single solution to get rid of all the hurdles mentioned above. 

In addition, being “something all trade related businesses can use” and “a service that continues to increase its functions through utilizing data and connecting to other platforms” make this platform very versatile and expandable. That is why we were given the opportunity to present our platform at three APEC workshops (Sep. 7th, Sep. 15th, Oct. 1st) as a trade platform that supports small and medium-sized businesses entering the trading business. 

*September 7th Workshop: https://apecpolicydialogue.com.my/ 

*September 15th Workshop: https://bit.ly/3lcnItW 

*October 1st Workshop: https://spark.adobe.com/page/wCwXKH3uLvExS/ 

■Starting platform use by small and medium-sized companies 

As a trial, we paired with Climbest, a small company (3 employees) from Kagoshima Prefecture that is just starting to enter into trading. With a prerequisite that it be fully digital, we were able to successfully start testing digital trading and hope by the end of the business year that the great products of Kagoshima can be exported around the world. 

It is similar to when companies such as UBER, GRAB, and GOJEK transformed the ride-hailing industry with their transportation platforms. The industry was no longer just taxi companies, but opened up to individuals and SMEs that had been doing other business until that point through the introduction of cutting-edge technology.  

A summary of these efforts can be viewed in the following video which was also shown by APEC. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi8KdYpqWtk) 

【Comments from people involved】 

Marie Wakino, President & CEO, Climbest

Working in the translation industry, I saw many small businesses struggle to expand their trade oversees and eventually give up. That’s when I realized if something isn’t done about the hurdles these companies are facing, the great local products of the regions will remain hidden. So, I started trading myself. Using the TradeWaltz platform has lowered the hurdles which has brought oversees trade even closer and allowed me to strive to become a digital trading company. 

Satoru Someya,  Managing Director and Head of CEO’s Office, Trade Waltz Inc., 

Even the large corporations that exist today all started as small or venture companies. In Japan, as well as all the countries around the world, these are the companies that created the current generation. I’d like TradeWaltz to become a company that innovates these times through supporting entrepreneurs and SMEs in entering the trade business. Eventually, I’d like a society where even individuals can casually make a trade. Like a YouTuber making a living creating videos while traveling, I’d love for the world to be filled with “Travel Traders” who sell good products that they find while traveling around the world via online shops or trading platforms that utilize TradeWaltz. That is the new generation that we strive for here and will continue to make trading easier and closer to you. 

■About Trade Waltz 

 （*1）「TradeWaltz」 is a registered trade mark in Japan of Trade Waltz Inc. Any other names of products, companies, groups, etc., are names and registered trademarks of their own. 

（*2）SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It is a model that makes software available for use over the Internet.