A year ago, I stood on a stage in London, in front of some of the biggest movers and shakers and cried out on behalf of every SME.
I had been invited as a speaker at a C4DTI conference and I listened to people confidently discussing the Electronic Trade Act, block chain technology, and Trade Finance. At the point the microphone came my way, my heart was in my mouth and I opened with “before you guys get too carried away, are you aware that the closest most SMEs get to being digital is uploading PDF attachments?”. I pressed further…”Do you know that accounting software doesn’t produce Commercial Invoices suitable for export? That you can’t input a usable customer EORI unless you add it to a line in their address? That Commodity Codes have to be put in as part of your product detail? And that most software doesn’t even recognise Incoterms?”. I suggested that before they started modernising trade finance, could someone perhaps take a few steps back and develop some basic, affordable software to support the 400 million or so SMEs worldwide?
Against all odds and pronouncements of impossibility, my concept of an electronic trade platform, tailored to SMEs, has come to fruition. This breakthrough is a testament to Boex Limited, who truly listened and believed in my vision; and then expertly designed, trialled, and perfected the method. The impossible has just become possible at a price to suit an SME budget; and it will easily pay for itself through time saved. The benefit to our customers is that they can access their documents in real time.
Jointine Jane (MD)
