Outputs: The project anticipates the delivery of the following outputs:

1)  Workshop: the project will convene a one-day workshop targeting an primary audience of women entrepreneurs and a secondary audience of relevant policymakers. The workshop agenda will consist of three panels: (1) women entrepreneurs, (2) e-commerce service providers, and (3) policy experts to discuss the opportunities and challenges for women’s participation in the global economy through e-commerce. The initial panel will appeal to women entrepreneurs by creating an opportunity for shared peer-to-peer learning. The featured entrepreneur speakers will offer insights to achieve commercial success through cross-border e-commerce, and inspire and motivate the audience of women. Policy makers will also glean useful insights as to which government programs or policies helped or hindered the entrepreneurs’ success. This feedback is necessary for all policymakers who are actively engaged in promoting e-commerce opportunities and responsible for women’s economic empowerment programs. The e-commerce service providers will offer detailed, technical examples of tools and resources that directly benefit women e-commerce entrepreneurs. As service providers, they can also provide data and trends about the e-commerce sector that inform policymakers. Finally, policymakers and government officials will have an opportunity to outline policies, programs, and government resources or partnerships that are designed to support women entrepreneurs take advantage of e-commerce opportunities. This will directly benefit the women entrepreneurs, who will learn about new assistance, and will serve as a best practices session among the participating policymakers. The entire workshop is envisioned to included active participation from all attendees, providing further opportunities for the discussion of policy issues that impact women entrepreneurs and of best practices and success stories. The policy issues that raised by any speaker or participant could include: 

·   Regulations pertaining to e-commerce

·   Government paperwork requirements for exporters in e-commerce

·   Key elements entrepreneurs should be aware of in comparing e-commerce platform operators

·   Relevant B2B and B2C platforms

·   International e-payment services and exchange rates

·   Market data analysis tools and cloud-based inventory management systems

·   Logistics companies serving e-commerce entrepreneurs

·   Aggregators which are able to negotiate shipping discounts for SMEs involved in e-commerce

·   Cybersecurity and online safety information customized for SMEs and in particular, women entrepreneurs involved in e-commerce

2)  Women’s E-Commerce Report: a report will detail case studies of women entrepreneurs from APEC economies who are currently engaged in e-commerce sales in global markets, and conduct the majority of their business using online tools and platforms. The Women’s E-Commerce Report will be approximately 20-30 pages and will include both best practices for leveraging e-commerce platforms, as well as policy recommendations to improve the enabling environment for women e-commerce sellers. The case studies will be drawn from women entrepreneurs who participate in the Workshop, and from other women across the APEC region identified by women’s business organizations, APEC SMEWG and PPWE focal points, and other partner organizations. 

3)  Self-Assessment Tool Recommendations: the Workshop will provide input and recommendations for a self-assessment tool to identify challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in e-commerce, which is being developed by the United States as a resource for APEC member economies. This project (SME 09 2019S) will develop a self-assessment tool that enables APEC policy makers to identify the gaps in support for women entrepreneurs looking for business growth through e-commerce. The tool will ask a series of questions on whether APEC governments are providing the necessary support for women entrepreneurs to access e-commerce opportunities. It will then outline the approach APEC economies can take towards supporting growth-oriented women entrepreneurs ready for, or engaging in, cross-border e-commerce. The tool will be launched at the Women and the Economy Forum in 2020. 

Outcomes:  

(1)  Women’s Participating in the Global Economy: The project will contribute to development of women's entrepreneurship, job growth, the expansion of the digital economy and greater economic growth across the APEC region. It will facilitate access for women-led MSMEs to export markets through better access to e-commerce systems and platforms. It will also work to create an ecosystem conducive to e-commerce by diagnosing regulatory and logistical constraints.  The project is part of a long-term plan to encourage more women to participate in the global economy through e-commerce and to address policy challenges that prevent the full participation of women in the internet economy. 

(2)  Self-Assessment Tool: The project will also provide important feedback for the Advancing Cross-Border E-Commerce for Women Entrepreneurs self-assessment tool, which must reflect the experience and input of women currently or ready to engage in cross-border e-commerce to be an effective policy tool for APEC economies. The key outcome will be refinement and improvement of the self-assessment tool before the pilot phase. 

(3) SMEWG/DESG/PPWE Collaboration: the development and implementation of this project will support long-term collaboration among three APEC sub-fora, bringing together expertise in  e-commerce, SME development, and women’s economic empowerment to benefit relevant policy-makers and women entrepreneurs across the APEC region. While there have been several projects related to women entrepreneurship and e-commerce, there are few examples of collaboration among the SMEWG, DESG, and PPWE. The PO is working directly with DESG and PPWE counterparts to shape the project address cross-cutting issues that are relevant to the work plans of all three APEC sub-for a. 

Beneficiaries:  

(1)  Participating women entrepreneurs will be the primary beneficiary of the Workshop. They will learn firsthand how others have achieved business success using e-commerce tools, and they will learn about online tools and resources to help them build an e-commerce presence. Participants will be able to immediately implement the skills and knowledge gained from the workshop.

(2)   APEC policy-makers will directly benefit from a concise discussion of best practices and challenges relating to global e-commerce, and they will be the direct beneficiary of the outcomes document, the Women’s E-Commerce Report. Working-level policymakers from small business development agencies, trade promotion agencies, and those responsible for digital economy issues and women’s affairs will be targeted for invitation to the Workshop and for dissemination of the Women’s E-Commerce Report. Furthermore, insights from the Workshop will feed into the Self-Assessment Tool, which will be another resource for economies to assess their support for women entrepreneurs and tailor capacity-building activities to address the identified gaps. 

(3)  All APEC entrepreneurs and MSMEs who have an online presences or run a business that could grow through the establishment of an online presence will directly benefit from the Workshop outcomes, including the Women’s E-Commerce Report and the policy or program changes that come about as a result of the recommendations contained therein, and indirectly through the use of the Self-Assessment Tool that is currently under development. Online sales channels and e-commerce can benefit small businesses in all sectors.