Dubai-based port operator DP World has launched a global wholesale e-commerce platform, which was first available in Rwanda, with plans to expand across Africa and the world. The website, DUBUY.com, will add digital trading corridors to the physical corridors DP World has built across Africa with its investment in ports, terminals and logistics operations. It will partner with local businesses and the Rwandan government to help unlock access to global markets for small and medium UAE enterprises using DP World’s end-to-end integrated supply chain services to fulfill orders for export and to receive goods. The platform also enables global companies to find and serve new trading partners in Africa, opening up access to fast growing markets. Online marketplaces are a significant opportunity for economic growth in Africa, which today accounts for less than 0.5 percent of global e-commerce according to the United Nations Conference on Development and Trade. In 2018, trade between the UAE and Rwanda reached AED1.6 billion ($434.8 million), with the size of trade growing significantly in the last decade as part of wider bilateral and economic ties. According to Clare Akamanzi, CEO of Rwanda Development Board: “The platform will make the previously impossible, possible, for many Rwandan entrepreneurs to trade with the UAE – and beyond.” “People and companies across the globe are resorting to technology to fuel their post-pandemic recovery and improve access to global trade.” “World class e-commerce platforms backed by innovative, reliable logistical networks can lead the charge, transforming how business is done across the continent,” Akamanzi explained. Mahmood al-Bastaki, chief operating officer of DT World, a wholly-owned DP World subsidiary, said the website represents a new model of partnership with the UAE designed to bolster the existing potential in Rwanda and open businesses and markets by enabling trade and supplying innovation. “This technology allows home grown businesses to become international manufacturers and exporters - by linking them with new markets in Africa, the Middle East and eventually the rest of the world.” In Rwanda, this includes the promotion of valuable exports like tea, coffee and horticulture, through a network that significantly upgrades the country’s supply chain logistics – both in urban and rural areas, Bastaki explained. It further provides access to new digital tools that will help local businesses prosper, he added, noting that the “DP World is not just building in Rwanda, it is building with Rwanda – for Rwanda.” Meanwhile, Mike Bhaskaran, Chief Operating Officer, Technology and Logistics at DP World, said the port operator is investing to build the future of world trade. “Our vision is to create more efficient trading corridors for our customers through our ports and logistics and digital technology to make operations more efficient, and now online platforms for trade.” He expressed pride in DP World’s contribution to support economic development and increased prosperity in Africa.