The UK’s Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation (C4DTI) is expanding its operations internationally with the launch of iC4DTI on 5 December.
Chris Southworth, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UK and co-founder of the centre, highlighted the surge in global interest following the UK’s reforms on electronic trade documents, noting that there were “all sorts of requests for support, especially from emerging markets.”
The new centre will target major trading hubs like Singapore, the UAE, and India, as well as developing economies, aiming to align global digital trade practices through close collaboration with governments and practitioners.
Oswald Kuyler, iC4DTI co-founder and digital trade adviser to ICC UK, emphasised the urgent need for talent in digital trade, stating, “You can count the amount of digital trade talent available globally on two hands.”
Kuyler underscored the importance of increasing talent in regions such as Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America to ensure widespread knowledge dispersal.
To achieve this, he proposed leveraging philanthropic investment to scale up training and development, ensuring small businesses in developing nations are not excluded from the benefits of digital trade. “We want to make sure that micro and small businesses across developing nations don’t get left behind,” he said.
The centre also plans to address interoperability challenges in developed markets, where separate initiatives often lack cohesion.
Southworth explained, “One might have the legal infrastructure in place but not the digital identity infrastructure,” highlighting the need for unified systems. iC4DTI will operate as a non-profit, focusing on creating a faster, cheaper, and more sustainable global trading system.
As Southworth summarised, the initiative aims to ensure “no one gets left behind, especially in those emerging markets,” with SMEs being among the primary beneficiaries.
Article by John Basquill for Global Trade Review. Read more here or download the PDF below.
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