| Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) has become among the first chambers in the region to offer members an e-marketplace service. The B2B portal, set to benefit 27,000 chamber members, has been developed jointly with Emarketplaces FZ. "This is a landmark for us, and will allow businesses here reach out to new markets faster and more cost-effectively," said Saeed Obaid Al Jarwan, director general, while declaring the e-marketplace live yesterday. The official said all firms registered with the chamber would get the service free for the Silver service, while additional services under the Gold package would cost a nominal Dh368 per annum, and the advanced Platinum service Dh1,100. He noted the chamber would host a series of workshops to inform businesses about the potential represented by the B2B portal. Animesh Basu, general manager, Emarketplaces, explained the service is already up an running through links with various other B2B e-marketplaces the company has already started. "We already have interconnected links with Dubai, Iran, Africa (Kenya), Sudan and Azerbaijan, and plan to expand with Jordan, Oman, China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Tanzania, all linked through our central database," he said. He added there are already 11,400 members on the overall network, with 20-25 transactions being witnessed daily. "A unique service we offer is off-line support through e-reps. Other services in the pipeline include electronic catalogues, electronic trust seals, online auctions, content management tools, online HR and payroll management systems, etc," he said. Basu stressed the platform blends technology with traditional methods of doing business, facilitating ease of use at low cost. "We are also in talks to offer online banking services, the aim being to offer our customers comprehensive services through just one log-in point." |
