PayFort, a leading online payment provider in the Arab world, has launched its PayForward Initiative, an e-knowledge sharing and networking space designed to help start-ups find solutions to the challenges they are facing.

 

It aims at increasing their potential for success and allowing them to better serve their clients and contribute to the national economies in the region.

 

The digital space will be part of the PayFort website and will serve as a bridge that links start-ups with leading e-commerce merchants, experts, mentors, and consultants so that they can share knowledge and enjoy networking opportunities, which will, in turn, be beneficial for the wider entrepreneurial ecosystem.

 

Omar Soudodi, managing director, said: “The Arab world’s start-up ecosystem is really on the rise, a phenomenon that carries with it many benefits for the region’s wider economy, from employment creation to increased trade and commerce to economic and infrastructural development.

 

“It is our hope that programme will facilitate the growth of the ecosystem, and thus increase its wider economic benefits, by connecting entrepreneurs with industry leaders and their deep knowledge, experience, and contacts.”

 

With an estimated 30 million people shopping online and a market that is expected to grow to $15billion by next year, the Middle East is a region that is ripe for e-commerce start-ups to gain traction. 

 

While payment has been one of the most salient challenges faced by e-commerce start-ups in the region, with 70-80 per cent of shoppers choosing ‘cash on delivery’ as their preferred payment method, PayFort, which which has an 85 per cent acceptance ratio, the highest in the region, is equipping start-ups with the reliable and secure payment solutions needed to reverse this trend. - TradeArabia News Service