International Trade Centre

Acronym: ITC

Established: 1964

Address: 54-56 rue de Montbrillant, Geneva, Switzerland

Stakeholder group: International and regional organisation

ITC supports developing countries to achieve trade-led growth, fosters inclusive and sustainable economic development, and contributes to achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs).

ITC offers small businesses, policymakers, and business support organisations in developing countries an array of trade-related practical training and advisory services, and a wealth of business intelligence data. It helps micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) become more competitive and helps create better regulatory environments for trade. ITC works to empower women, youth, and refugees through its programmes, projects, services, and data and helps drive digital connectivity and a global transition to green, sustainable trade.

Established in 1964, ITC is a multilateral agency with a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Contents

Digital activities

ITC activities in e-commerce and digital trade:

Focus on the digitalisation of trade and solving the constraints faced by MSM Es regarding the e-commerce of goods and services, at the enterprise, business ecosystem, and policy levels.
Develop small business digital capabilities and improve e-commerce accessibility in developing countries for sustainable and inclusive growth through its ecomConnect programme.
Support the development of a conducive policy and regulatory environment for e-commerce at the national, regional, and multilateral levels, including facilitating domestic policy reforms, informing policymakers on the needs of MSMEs in relation to e-commerce and digitalisation, and building capacity for e-commerce-related trade negotiations.
Support digital connectivity by improving telecommunications regulations and working with partners who provide access to technologies and services.
Improve business ecosystems by collaborating with market partners and equipping business services organisations (BSOs) with the capacity to support MSMEs in the digital economy.

ITC is one of the co-facilitators of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) action lines in the area of e-business, as well as a partner agency in UNCTAD’s e-trade for all initiative.

Digital policy issues

E-commerce and trade

ITC provides capacity building for policymakers on current issues in the e-commerce policy debate through training, workshops, and publications, contributing to a conducive policy environment for e-commerce and digital trade. ITC projects also support developing countries in reviewing and updating e-commerce-related regulations and building capacity for effective implementation of policy reforms.

ITC assists enterprises, in particular MSMEs, in acquiring the necessary skills and capabilities to trade on e-commerce channels. Through the ecomConnect programme, it is engaged in the sustainable development of small businesses online by facilitating shared learning, innovative solutions, collaboration, and partnerships.

ITC’s e-commerce tools help MSMEs assess the readiness of their business to engage in international e-commerce, understand the options and costs of selling on e-commerce platforms, find available payment solutions, and track sales and site traffic across different e-commerce platforms in a single dashboard.
ITC’s digital entrepreneurship projects also support developing countries and MSMEs to build competitiveness in the rapidly growing global information technology and business process outsourcing markets.

Capacity development

The SME Trade Academy is ITC’s flagship e-learning platform, offering a wide range of online courses and educational resources on trade and related topics. Designed for SMEs, policymakers, business support organisations, and trade professionals, the Academy supports skills development for inclusive and sustainable trade.

With over 600,000 enrolments and 150,000+ certificates issued, the Academy hosts more than 100 courses tailored to entrepreneurs, government agencies, and support institutions.

The Academy is integrating AI-powered learning, including:

AI Tutors that provide instant, tailored feedback.
AI Graders that ensure an in-depth understanding before learners can advance.
A mastery-based structure that includes an AI Moderator, requiring learners to complete each module before moving forward.

For learners on the go, the Academy also offers a Microlearning platform with five-minute lessons—no registration required.

Additional ITC e-learning platforms include:

Global Textile Academy
How to trade within Africa
SheTrades Academy
Enterprise Competitiveness Benchmarking
Supply Chain Management Diploma

ITC also offers training for policymakers on building a conducive environment for e-commerce and engaging in negotiations on e-commerce and digital trade.

Resources

Digital tools

ITC addresses the challenge of the lack of reliable trade information on markets by offering market analysis tools and related market data sources. The Global Trade Helpdesk provides a one-stop shop for detailed information about imports, market dynamics, tariffs, regulatory requirements, potential buyers and more.

ITC’s suite of trade and market intelligence tools enables businesses to identify export and import opportunities, compare market access requirements, monitor national trade performance, and make well-informed trade decisions. They cover data from more than 220 countries and territories and consist of the following: Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map, Procurement Map, Export Potential Map, and Sustainability Map.

Beyond these market analysis tools, ITC offers a wide range of online tools that make global trade more transparent and facilitate access to markets: ITC’s tools provide data to small businesses to remain competitive

The ecomConnect community platform, managed by ITC’s ecomConnect programme, links entrepreneurs, industry experts and members of business support organisations so they can make connections, acquire digital expertise through free online courses, e-commerce tools and live webinars, and discuss the latest e-commerce news. The community brings together more than 7,500 active users from sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In addition, the ITC library serves as a specialised information resource on international trade, through its online catalogue, which is available to all users.