Businesses need to continually innovate to stay competitive - Koya

Minister for Commerce and Trade Faiyaz Koya says the COVID-19 situation has fundamentally altered the world as we know it, the shift towards e-commerce underlines the need for businesses to continually innovate to stay competitive.

Koya said this at the launch of the Pacific E-Commerce Portal.

He also says that e-commerce can all but eliminate the tyranny of distance facing our Pacific Micro Small and Medium Enterprises.

Koya adds a good consultant from a remote Pacific Island Country can easily connect to global teleworking platforms such as Upwork, and compete on par with graphic consultants who reside in megacities such as Sydney or New York.

The minister gave the example of Caroline, a young freelancer from Suva, who is rated 4.85 out of 5, on the Upwork platform, and has already completed 11 assignments and she is charging USD$7 per hour for her remote data-entry work.

He says the example of Caroline explains very well why e-commerce was identified as a regional priority in the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy 2020-2025, which was endorsed by Forum Trade Ministers in February 2020.

74 participants from 12 countries around the Pacific region took part in a 4-week course, on E-commerce rules for Pacific negotiators, from March to April this year.