The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, an Abu Dhabi government agency, is teaming up with e-commerce company eBay to help small and medium enterprises boost their exports globally. As part of the partnership, SMEs in the emirate will receive a number of benefits including 200 free listings and a toolbox with a guide on best selling practices on eBay, the Abu Dhabi government media office said on Tuesday, citing a statement from Khalifa Fund. The collaboration “aims to further enhance Abu Dhabi’s e-commerce ecosystem while also being in alignment with the mandate to diversify the emirate’s economy and increase non-oil exports to international markets”, Khalifa Fund said. Khalifa Fund is supporting businesses to become fully digital and thrive in the digital economy as part of its e-Empower initiative launched in 2020. Since its inception, e-Empower has partnered with Amazon and its subsidiary Amazon Web Services (AWS), as well as Akshaak and noon to support 1,200 SMEs. The initiative has been among “the most influential and impactful initiatives that Khalifa Fund has ever launched, with hundreds of hours of guidance and a vast array of Abu Dhabi companies creating their own e-commerce stores”, said Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi <a href="https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/topic/department-of-economic-development/">Department of Economic Development</a> and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. Online shopping gained momentum after movement restrictions were placed across the world to stop the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The size of the e-commerce market in the Mena region is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 28 per cent to $28.5 billion by 2022, up from $8.3bn in 2017, according to a joint study by Google and Bain & Company. “As one of our target markets, we see great potential in the UAE and wish to assist local SMEs go global and ease their journey,” Jenny Hui, general manager of global emerging markets at eBay said. “With over 159 million buyers worldwide in 190 markets and 250 million searches a day, eBay opens the door to any local business to become a global player. Last year alone, we saw growth of over 28 per cent of UAE sellers on eBay, and we plan to continue and extend our support to local businesses, via different growth and support programmes customised for every relevant business”.
