TRADETECH SHOWCASE 2020

In the third edition of the GTR Ventures Tradetech Showcase, we are once again partnering with GTR Asia, the world’s largest trade finance event, to give the most innovative startups in the trade world a chance to pitch their business models to top leaders in the industry. 

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This year has been a searing reminder that as the world’s supply chains continue to grow in sophistication and complexity, they also need to prepare for unprecedented disruptions. And the one of the most relevant tools at the industry’s disposal to boost supply chain resilience is technology. 

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RISE OF THE #TRADETECH SECTOR

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More and more attention is being paid to the burgeoning #tradetech sector, and this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched its TradeTech Initiative, aiming to “identify the landscape of technologies and innovations that aim to enable trade to be more efficient, inclusive, and equitable”. Reefknot Investments – a joint venture between Kuehne + Nagel and Temasek – is driving next generation supply chain technologies through the NEXST consortium – a closed-door ‘think-tank’ comprising prominent leaders in trade and trade finance. 

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Sectors directly linked to trade, namely e-commerce and logistics, are witnessing rising interest from private equity and venture capital investors. According to a Temasek-Google report, gross merchandise value (GMV) in South-east Asia is expected to increase four-times to US$153bn in 2025 (from US$38bn in 2019). 

Clearly, there are opportunities in the perceived potential of trade technology innovation to remove all kinds of hurdles, and to make trade, and trade financing more efficient, sustainable and inclusive. However, as in all sectors, innovation can be a confusing process: the constant flow of new solutions and technologies is hard to follow, and the wide majority of market entrants don’t survive the consolidation of the industry.

NAVIGATING THIS WORLD

With the Tradetech Showcase, our goal is to leverage GTR Venture’s experience in identifying global trade trends to help you navigate the complex world of trade innovation. Three years ago, we created our platform to give exposure to entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas to increase the efficiency and the safety of global trade through technology. 

And while financial flows are an undeniable piece of the equation, ours is the only showcase that goes beyond fintech to explore other core elements in international trade: logistics, shipping, customs, and information flows.

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For our third iteration, we took advantage of the obligation to go virtual, and left behind the Singapore focus of previous editions to sift through the applications we received with a truly global lens. From more than 20 applications, we narrowed down our selection to four startups — the most promising rising stars of the tradetech sector. Some are focused on specific industries, such as transportation or mining; others strive to increase the transparency and availability of supply chain and credit data. 

Meet the Winner