Alibaba.com partners with AWEX to help Belgian SMEs go digital

Alibaba.com, Alibaba’s B2B online marketplace has signed an agreement with the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX), a Belgian government trade promotion agency, to jointly promote Belgian SMEs’ export globally through digitization.

On Wednesday last week, the two parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the 2021 EU CBEC Forum at Liege Airport in Belgium, where top players of e-commerce and cross-border trade came together to discuss the opportunities of cross-border trade and digitization.

Under the MoU, Alibaba.com will help Belgian SMEs to export their products globally, through dedicated training, specialist assistance and the promotion of Belgian sellers on Alibaba.com. The cooperation was launched under the framework of the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) initiative which was jointly launched by the Belgium government and Alibaba Group in 2018 to promote inclusive trade.

Willy Borsus, Vice-President of the Wallonia Region Government and Minister of the Economy and Foreign Trade, commented: “The Belgian government launched the eWTP platform with Alibaba Group in 2018 in order to support inclusive cross-border trader and to help SMEs take part in global commerce. Today’s announcement is testament to our ongoing efforts and cooperation to strengthen the growth of cross-border exports of high-quality Belgian products.”

“It is my great pleasure to announce our partnership with Alibaba.com. Through this platform, products from Wallonia, Belgium and Europe can be sourced from all around the world, as Alibaba.com covers over 200 countries and regions. The partnership between AWEX and Alibaba.com aims to allow Walloon companies to be present on this platform, to acquire online visibility and to benefit from personalized services adapted to their needs in order to optimize their lead generation,” added Michel Kempeneers, Director General International Affairs of Wallonia Export-Investment Agency (AWEX).

“The cooperation between Alibaba.com and AWEX we are announcing today will support more Belgian and Walloon SMEs reach customers around the world, reach out to international customers, increase production and diversify income streams,” commented James Song, Secretary General of Alibaba Group’s Globalization Office.

“Many Belgian exporters have been active on Alibaba.com for many years, hailing from different industries including automotive, agricultural products and food. Belgian products are very popular with global buyers, and we see a lot of demand from all over the world. And that’s why we are here in Belgium, to continue to help local exporters sell to the world,” commented Andrew Zheng, Deputy General Manager of Alibaba.com.