Tradeworld`s partnership with ITRISA signals importance of training in global online trading

Johnnic`s e-commerce hub TradeWorld and ITRISA (International Trade Institute of Southern Africa) have announced a partnership focusing on the education and training aspect of the TradeWorld portal to maximise the tremendous potential e-commerce offers to small and medium business enterprises.

TradeWorld, an on-line trading hub, is the first market place to offer e-commerce tools to both major corporates and small to medium companies. "We believe the SME sector has major growth potential, but key to that is educating SMEs on e-commerce and providing them with the correct training to transport them to the new economy way of thinking and doing business," says Sean Emery, TradeWorld`s managing director.

"Part of our mission is to empower a broad spectrum of business sectors to build a stronger e-commerce trading base. It makes sense for TradeWorld and ITRISA to combine their resources and expertise to increase Africa`s trading capability and open up the world of on-line trading," Emery continues.

ITRISA, established in 1996, is one of few accredited providers dealing with trade-related training programmes. It plans to bring to TradeWorld both its existing internationally accredited education programmes in an online format and a range of short training modules on various trade applications designed to prepare TradeWorld subscibers for the practical and often complex day-to-day realities of doing business internationally.

ITRISA is currently the only institutional member on the African continent of the UK-based International Association of Trade Training Organisations (IATTO) - a body active in advancing professionalism and co-operation in the field of international trade training and education worldwide. Through its interaction with similar organisations in other countries, ITRISA keeps abreast of the latest international trade trends and developments, and ensures its products meet global standards.

"We have been involved in this dynamic field for many years, having set up the SA Institute of Export for SAFTO in the 1980s. Moving into the world of e-business is now a logical step which will enable us not only to extend out reach but also to trade-enable southern Africa`s many business communities in a virtual international market place," says Rose Blatch, ITRISA director and recently re-elected Chairman of the IATTO Board.

"ITRISA`s experience lies in the development of international trade training and education programmes which focus on global issues in the context of southern African market conditions," Blatch continues. "It is our intention to be a catalyst in the transformation of the SADC countries into vibrant trading nations, and we see our partnership with TradeWorld as the next step in this direction."

ITRISA`s association with TradeWorld also extends to the portal`s all-important Ask TradeWorld service - a central call centre switch point established to define and answer subscriber queries, and direct users to applicable sectors of the TradeWorld portal. If the enquiry is complex enough to necessitate research, it will be moved up to a second, fee-based level. If it is deemed to be very specialised, then a referral element will kick in to offer a pre-vetted referral service to users.