BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6af5e38c827b4 DTSTART:20160421T110000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20160421T110000Z LOCATION:Geneva\, Suiza SUMMARY:eTrade for all Consultation CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:E-Trade for AllUnlocking the potential of e-commerce in develop ing countries  This event is part of UNCTAD'\;sE-Commerce Week  Co ntributions to UNCTAD Draft Call for Action on the eTrade for All Initi ative E-commerce can become a powerful driver of economic growth\, inclusi ve trade and job creation across the developing world. While some developi ng countries have made significant inroads into e-commerce\, most are stil l lagging behind. As mentioned in the UNCTAD Information Economy Report 20 15\, the extent to which people purchase goods and services online varies considerably among countries\, ranging from less than 2 per cent of people in some middle-income countries to more than 70 per cent in the United Ki ngdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Smaller businesses also trail larger enterprises in taking advantage of the Internet for e-commerce\, ha mpering their ability to reach new customers in domestic and foreign marke ts. While numerous development partners\, foundations\, and private sector players are working from different angles to unlock the power of the Inte rnet for economic development\, current efforts are seldom holistic or sys tematically focused on building e-commerce economies. Against this backdro p\, UNCTAD is taking the lead in exploring possibilities for launching a n ew global initiative called E-Trade for All\, aimed at unlocking the poten tial of e-commerce in developing countries. To launch the initiative\, a d raft call for action has been prepared by representatives of Governments\, international organizations and private sector enterprises involved in e- commerce. E-Trade for All in briefE-Trade for All is intended to be a m ulti-stakeholder initiative to improve the ability of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to use and benefit from e-comm erce. It will be a demand-driven mechanism in which leading development pa rtners cooperate with the private sector to pool capabilities and resource s. The goals of the initiative are as follows:To raise awareness of opport unities and challenges related to leveraging e-commerce.To mobilize and ra tionalize financial and human resources to implement e-commerce projects i n developing countries.To strengthen coherence and synergies among partner s'\; activities with a view to avoiding duplication of work and enhanc ing aid efficiency.UNCTAD invites all stakeholders to review the draft cal l for action and contribute their experiences\, views and priorities conce rning the Aid for eTrade initiative. Written comments are welcome and shou ld be sent to ict4d@unctad.org no later than 10 April 2016. Contributions will be made available online in the language in which they are received\, unless contributors have specifically requested that they should not be p ublished.mailto&\;#58\;ict4d@unctad.org\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\n https://unctad.org/meeting/etrade-all-consultation DTSTAMP:20261112T160428Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR