Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation

THURSDAY, 5 SEPTEMBER 2019, KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the national trade promotion agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry recently added eRomman.com as its first online marketplace collaborator for the Middle East region under its eTRADE programme. The proactive move is timely given the rise of eCommerce trends in the Middle East.

E-commerce is set for strong growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The market was worth US$8.3 billion in 2017 and is expected to more than triple by 2022 to reach US$28.5 billion, according to a new research by Bain & Company and Google.

Through the collaboration, Malaysian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can now leverage on eTRADE Programme to capitalise on the strong purchasing power of consumers in the Middle East. Via the collaboration, companies who register on eRomman.com will be receiving advisory and product consultation, online store registration, unlimited product listing, and designated relationship manager among other things for a period of one year. As the language of the target market is primarily Arabic, product translation, banner advertising, social media promotion and influencer campaign in the native language are also included in the package.

Apart from various series of trainings, eTRADE’s facilitation also includes RM5,000 e-voucher to help SMEs onboard any emarketplaces under its belt. According to En Noraslan Hadi, Director of Customised Programme at MATRADE, the selection of eRomman.com strengthens the market coverage under the eTRADE Programme. “We aspire to make eTRADE Programme a key facilitation for SMEs to kickstart or expand their export business globally through the online platform. Currently, the market coverage under eTRADE include Middle East, ASEAN, Europe, China and United States,” he said.

Meanwhile, eRomman.com’s Co-Founder Hussain Zawiya said with the selection of eRomman, Malaysian SMEs can now explore the prospects of selling local products to retail buyers in 22 countries in the Middle East via e-marketplace. “eRomman is the1st Arabic Cross Boarder Marketplace exists in the ASEAN region aiming to connect online Sellers based in Malaysia and ASEAN Region with Online Buyers in the Middle East,”