Entrepreneurs and exporters can access online courses to help them expand their business internationally as they build strong networks and strike deals.

The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) SheTrades Virtual Learning Space (VLS) offers short courses on a wide variety of topics including export strategy, marketing, logistics, competitiveness, financing and quality control.

These include giving tools to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to evaluate their level of preparation for exporting, designing a strategy for success, and implementing effective marketing of their products along with quality production.

Among SheTrades’ most popular courses include The Trade Environment, Defining Your Business, and Incoterms and International Transportation. Incoterms assign responsibilities for goods transported between buyers and sellers.

“Although its materials are specifically aimed at and designed for women, its catalogue is available to all and remains open throughout the year. Importantly, the same login information can be used to access both the SheTrades VLS and the SME Trade Academy,” said the ITC, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization.

Aside from learning through virtual space, the SheTrades initiative provides opportunities to women entrepreneurs for networking and connections to online buyers.

Another online learning platform of the ITC, the SME Trade Academy, boasts over 100 free online courses on export development, sustainability, trade support, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, and market analysis.

“While our target audience mostly consists of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), mostly located in developing and least developed countries, our training also reaches other relevant participants, such as government agencies, policymakers, members of international organizations, trade and investment support institutions (TISIs) and academia,” the ITC said.

This month, upcoming courses on the SME Trade Academy include Financing Trade in Services and Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility.

The former course introduces the particularities of service exporters, their financial needs at various stages of growth, as well as the various obstacles which they face in accessing adequate financing.

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