This Year's World E-Commerce Forum to Be Held Online

Turkey's e-export platform WORLDEF will organize the World E-Commerce Forum, held annually in partnership with Türkiye İş Bankası, as a free online event for the first time this year to support all stakeholders in e-commerce and e-exports as part of coronavirus (COVID-19) measures. The forum, with the UK Department for International Trade and Turkish Exporters Assembly as organization partners, will be one of Turkey's largest online events of this scale. The Online World E-Commerce Forum 2020 will take place in a virtual environment on Saturday, 16 May between 12:00-17:30, led by WORLDEF with Türkiye İş Bankası as main business partner and the UK Department for International Trade and Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) as organization partners. The forum, supported by the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, will feature sessions focused on e-exports, workshops, one-on-one video meetings and collaboration sessions. This year, the forum will be organized free of charge and online to support the e-export ecosystem during the coronavirus pandemic and promote e-export development. The online forum will be held via the video conferencing application DealRoom, with more than 15 speakers from the e-commerce and e-export ecosystem participating and more than 10 workshops being organized. The forum, which is expected to see online participation from over 10,000 companies, will host over 100 international companies. British e-commerce companies invited by the UK Department for International Trade will also be present at the forum. Companies from different countries, particularly the UK, will be able to open virtual stands. At these stands, collaboration meetings between Turkish manufacturers and foreign companies can be held.

All participants will be able to meet one-on-one with each other and participating companies as if they were at a physical event and organize meetings.

Some of the speakers at the forum, which will feature prominent names in the cross-border e-commerce ecosystem, are as follows: WORLDEF Chairman Ömer Nart, UK Consul General in Istanbul Judith Slater, Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) Secretary General Prof. Dr. Kerem Alkin, Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Alderman Emma Edhem, UK Department for International Trade Dealmaker Simon Spince, General Manager of Elearning Marketplace, one of the UK's major marketplaces, Carolyn Lewis, CRO Sven Hakan Thyr and Phil Booker from Fruugo, one of the UK's largest online marketplaces, ChannelEngine CEO Jorrit Steinz who provides integration for sales to overseas marketplaces, Andrei Buecli (Amazon Operations Manager) and Aaron Sarac (COO) from London Bridge Project, which manages UK sales operations for companies from different countries. Furthermore, at the end of the forum, Scottish musician Paul Dwyer will perform a morale-boosting online concert for participants. Dwyer, who has fans around the world, will provide pleasant moments to forum participants in the virtual environment. The renowned musician will also perform Turkish songs. WORLDEF Chairman Ömer Nart stated on the matter: "The forum will address the most current topics in e-commerce specific to the UK market. Cross-border e-commerce opportunities in the European region will also be discussed. In this respect, the World E-Commerce Forum serves as a guide for companies seeking to capture a share of the large market in the UK, which holds great potential for e-exporters. Following the Brexit decision, our e-exporters need to make very good use of the transition period that has occurred. For this reason, the forum will provide a vision for those who want to engage in e-exports and expand their horizons," he said. The Online World E-Commerce Forum 2020 is being organized by WORLDEF and Türkiye İş Bankası as main business partner. The forum, with the UK Department for International Trade and Turkish Exporters Assembly as organization partners, is supported by the Turkish Ministry of Commerce. Participating companies at the forum include; Digital Partners, London Bridge Project, AliExpress, Magnacca, Fruugo, ChannelEngine, Elearning Marketplace, Propars, Sefamerve, EY Parthenon, UND, PTS. Media sponsors include; TRT Haber, TRT World, Reuters, Turkish British, Dünya, Sabah, Hürriyet, Ecommerce News, B2Press, Perakende.org.