eBay Helps Singapore SMEs Export More To The US
eBay is partnering with Enterprise Singapore on an initiative to boost exports to the US.
eBay has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) today to boost SME export initiatives, at the sidelines of the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) 2022 flagship event taking place from 25 – 28 October 2022.
The MoU kicks off a relationship between the two organizations to work together on enabling Singapore SMEs to export to global markets, starting with the US, through eBay's global marketplaces. According to eBay's recently released "Southeast Asia Small Online Business Trade Report 2022" ("Report"), the US is the top export market for Singapore SMEs on eBay...
...Small businesses and entrepreneurs are fundamental to the economic health of local communities. Working together with EnterpriseSG, eBay is committed to fuelling Singapore SMEs' long-term success through digital commerce, so they can grow their business locally while selling globally. EnterpriseSG will work with more Singapore SMEs to explore e-commerce platforms, including eBay, to boost their exports as part of the collaboration...
So what exactly is eBay providing to help Singapore SMEs? Subsidies and fee incentives, selling limit increases, dedicated account management and more!
Working Together to accelerate SME export
As part of the collaboration, eBay will provide support to SMEs who are new on eBay to scale up their export business, starting with the US. This endeavour involves:
- a tailored 12-month onboarding program that may include participation in an incentive support scheme for store and marketing fees;
- selling limit increases;
- participation in seller education programs and webinars;
- subsidies to defray the costs of adopting various eBay tools, such as the forward deployment program on eBay Marketplaces; and
- dedicated account manager support.
As a platform partner under the Grow Digital initiative, eBay has also worked with EnterpriseSG to offer a 6-month channel management solution programme for SMEs to develop in-house e-commerce capabilities. EnterpriseSG and eBay will continue to collaborate to support SMEs that require deeper assistance in kickstarting their e-commerce journey.
Exporting to international markets and globalizing a business means navigating complex tax laws, managing sophisticated logistics arrangements, identifying customized methods of last-mile delivery, and importantly, generating insights on ever-evolving markets and categories.
To help SMEs succeed in the long run, EnterpriseSG and eBay will work together to provide market insights, up-to-date knowledge on taxation rules in global markets, as well as the appropriate partners or programmes relevant to e-commerce exports.
Sellers may want to pay close attention to that part about "market insights" - here's just one example of how eBay has provided market insights to help boost overseas imports in the past:
In 2014, then president of eBay Marketplaces (later CEO) Devin Wenig went all in on selling eBay user's search data to Chinese manufacturers to help ramp up "vintage" reproductions to compete with popular authentic items on the platform.
Adrienne LaFrance
"We send [manufacturers] data about what people are looking for on eBay and they respond and turn it around incredibly quickly," president of eBay Marketplaces Devin Wenig told me. "We have a really big China export business to Europe and the United States. And they respond very, very quickly to consumer taste, whatever it might be. It's really remarkable to see how quickly the manufacturing base adapts to the demand signals they get."
In other words, that red wool-blend Cross Colours hat on eBay might not be the relic from 1989 it appears to be, but instead a newly manufactured replica. (It is, of course, against eBay's policy to sell counterfeit items.) Yes, there's a huge and thriving "new vintage" manufacturing sector built around—and tailored to— your online searches.
What do you think of eBay's new partnership with EnterpriseSG? Let us know in the comments below!
