NOVICA and International Trade Centre partner to empower artisans worldwide
(Geneva, 15 September 2021) The International Trade Centre (ITC) has announced a partnership with NOVICA, the largest global online marketplace for artisan-handcrafted items that will enable small business owners and artisans to sell and internationalize their products on the global e-commerce platform.
The marketplace will help onboard hundreds of small businesses and artisans worldwide, by providing technical training on how to market and sell on NOVICA.
COVID-19 has greatly digitized the global consumer market, affecting many artisans who have traditionally been cut off from access to knowledge and technology. The joint mission of both NOVICA and the International Trade Centre is to fill this knowledge gap and provide marginalized artisans with key skills, tools and practices, to prosper post-pandemic times.
NOVICA will provide beneficiaries of International Trade Centre projects with extensive training, covering marketing, selling and inventory analysis. Moreover, NOVICA will assist with key business functions, such as store promotions and sharing success stories on the NOVICA website.
The first beneficiaries of the new partnership are part of the International Trade Centre’s project Linking Central American Women Business Enterprises with the Global Gifts and Home Decoration Market, funded by the European Union and implemented in collaboration with the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) and national partners in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
When purchasing through this page, 10% of the sales will be invested in supporting artisans benefitting from other International Trade Centre projects.
“Supporting artisans is at the heart of what we do at NOVICA. We could not be more ecstatic to team up with the International Trade Centre, whose dedication to leveraging technology to empower artisans has allowed the safeguards of Central American culture to flourish, even in turbulent times.”
Armenia Nercessian, co-founder, NOVICA, former UNHCR human rights officer
“Our collaboration with NOVICA will equip women-led enterprises in Central America with skills and digital knowledge to effectively do business abroad. Both partners are committed to step up Central America’s online export capacity, whilst empowering the region’s women-led businesses.”
Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre
“My products embody my country’s flora, its vast number of species, and our coffee tradition. Selling these through NOVICA has allowed me to spread the culture, joy, and vibrancy of Costa Rica to consumers around the globe.”
Carmen Fuentes Brenes, project beneficiary and founder of Costa Rican accessories label Arte y Decoracion
For more information on this partnership, contact:
ITC ecomConnect at ecomconnect [at] intracen.org (ecomconnect[at]intracen[dot]org).
Notes
About NOVICA - NOVICA is the world's largest 'Impact Marketplace' founded in 1999 by Roberto Milk and Armenia Nercessian. With over 100,000 handcrafted products sold globally, NOVICA's mission is to empower artisans and preserve their craft through e-commerce.
About ITC - The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information, visit www.intracen.org.
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