// PREDICTIVE INTELLIGENCE //

E-commerce offers a gateway to worldwide sales for companies of all sizes , including SMEs . But there are , of course , challenges for SMEs to make sure they access the right tools to make their e-commerce platform a success . Charles Anyanwu , Managing Director / CEO of Bostocke Close Investment , outlines the challenges which SMEs face in Europe , the Middle East and Africa ( EMEA ) and how to overcome them .

The promise of e-commerce for SMEs

We could argue that the emergence of e-commerce has somewhat levelled the playing field or is at least bridging the gap , allowing retail-focused SMEs in less advanced countries within the EMEA region to compete fairly with one another by improving access to customers worldwide . For most retail SMEs however , e-commerce now offers a gateway to expand their reach far beyond their operational limitations and / or macroeconomic forces . Platforms such as Shopify , Jumia and Noon have significantly simplified the process of setting up an online storefront , making it both accessible and affordable .

In Nigeria , for instance , more retail-focused SMEs are adopting digital channels to improve market access nationwide . Similarly , in the UAE , some SMEs are thriving by leveraging government-backed partnerships with platforms like Amazon , while their counterparts across Europe are adopting innovative payment and operational tools offered by the likes of SumUp , thus , empowering even more micro enterprises to engage in e-commerce .

Nevertheless , SMEs still have significant challenges to surmount if they hope to remain successful .

The challenges SMEs face

1 . Access to finance : Accessing capital to launch or scale any business poses a major challenge for most SMEs . This challenge is exacerbated for e-commerce businesses , which require significant investments in technology , inventory and marketing . Typically , conventional financial institutions and lenders classify these small businesses as high-risk . Thus , there is a tendency to underfund or blacklist them altogether .

According to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group , only about 6 % of SMEs have formal access to credit , and this disconnect resonates across EMEA in mixed degrees . However , in Europe , where FinTech solutions such as SumUp , among others , offer credit-based payments , SMEs tend to have a source of quick and relatively affordable financing .

ACCESSING CAPITAL TO LAUNCH OR SCALE ANY BUSINESS POSES A MAJOR CHALLENGE FOR MOST SMES .

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