Trade promotion agencies from Brazil, France, Switzerland win global awards for small business success

GENEVA: Trade promotion and investment organizations from Brazil, France, and Switzerland have won top prizes at the World Trade Promotion Organizations Awards organized by the International Trade Centre (ITC).

The awards recognize outstanding programmes that help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) expand through trade. Runners-up in the competition hailed from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Namibia.

The winners were awarded in three categories:

• Best Use of Partnerships: Business France
  Runner-up: Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Agency (PROCOMER)
• Best Use of Information Technology: Switzerland Global Enterprise
  Runner-up: Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic
• Best Initiative to Ensure Inclusive and Sustainable Trade: ApexBrasil
  Runner-up: Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board

The winners were selected by their peers for their contributions to boosting small business exports and creating jobs in their respective economies.

For instance, Business France established strategic partnerships that have resulted in a 15% increase in SME exports since the launch of its programme.

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Switzerland Global Enterprise leveraged artificial intelligence to provide SMEs with customized news, leads, and business advice, helping them connect with advisors and scale their operations.

ApexBrasil championed women-led businesses, fostering export growth through innovative mentorship and partnerships.

“Trade and investment promotion organizations play a critical role in fostering sustainable economic growth, especially by supporting SMEs to export.

Today, we are celebrating the best among them, globally,” said ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton.

“Congratulations to the three winners and all the finalists for empowering small businesses to actively engage in trade.”

The 2024 competition received a record number of applications from trade promotion and investment organizations led by women.

The global competition, which has been held every two years since 2004, is judged by a panel of previous winners and chaired by the ITC Executive Director.