The unequal access to payments solutions and the lack of enabling regulatory frameworks have both been described as major hurdles for e-commerce to flourish in developing countries. Despite the recent surge in Fintech solutions, many micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) around the world still cannot thrive globally if they lack access to reliable payment systems and to a robust digital infrastructure.
Going beyond the rhetoric of the advantages of digitization for entrepreneurs and MSMEs in developing countries, we will discuss ready-made solutions that are already helping them to more easily participate in global trade through e-commerce.
One example is e-Residency, a digital identity provided by the Government of Estonia that grants the ability to use the country's digital platform. Its main benefit is offering the opportunity to anyone in the world to remotely establish and run a location-independent international business in a European Union (EU) country, which gives access to an EU International Bank Account Number with SEPA (or Single Euro Payments Area) payments, thus opening the possibility to use international payment providers.
The program has already more than 33 thousand e-residents from 154 countries.
Moderator: H.E. Mr. Andre Pung, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Estonia to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva
Speakers:
Mr. Antti-Jussi Suominen, CEO, Holvi
Ms. Victoria Saue, Head of Legal, Risk and Compliance, e-Residency, Government of Estonia
Ms. Arzu Altinay, E-resident and Founder and Owner of Walks in Europe
