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DOT-COM Activity: ANE - C-Level - Regional IT Business Linkage Network
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DOT: dot-ORG
Country: Asia and Near East Region
Funder(s):
Short Description: The dot-ORG Access Award is supporting the creation and rollout of a regional IT business linkages network for the Asia Near East region known as C-Level.
Phase/Type of Activity: Buy-in or Incremental Funding Status: Active
Start date: March 31, 2005 End Date: September 30, 2006
Partners:
Person(s) to contact
Contact
Christopher Light , Sr. Program Officer
dot-ORG , Academy for Educational Development
Email:
Tel: 202 884-8762
Full Description: IT companies across the Asia and Near East (ANE) region find it difficult to break into the developed world market to both sell products and services as well as sign representation contracts because industrialized countries (e.g., US, Canada, European, Korea, Japan, etc.) do not know the level of quality of a firm if it is coming from a small, emerging market (developing world) economy.
Further, when entrepreneurial ANE IT companies make costly international travel to visit with large MNC IT companies (e.g. Microsoft, SAP, CISCO, etc)., they will often meet mid-level managers because a companies top brass does not have time to invest with unknown individuals from small markets. This requires multiple follow-up visits across a year to close a deal - because companies coming from the developing world need to build trust if there is no one else to validate they are a bona fide qualified firm.
To counter this problem, the USAID/ANE Bureau Information Technology (IT) program developed a business development-matchmaking tour for IT product and service companies in several Asia and Near East Bureau (ANE) countries including Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Morocco, and Tunisia.
The dot-ORG Access Award will support the creation and rollout of a regional IT business linkages network for the Asia Near East region. This would build upon the matchmaking tour activity described above.
This regional IT business linkages network for the ANE region is now known as the C-Level Council (CEO, CIO, CFO, hence C-Level) devoted to facilitating regional and international trade and investment. C-Level, a membership based organization, is comprised of companies that have participated in the international business linkage tours (e.g. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Vietnam, Morocco, Tunisia, etc.) as well as other countries (e.g. India, Pakistan, Lebanon, UAE, etc.), or have a committed interest in regional/ international trade in IT services. Participating companies strive to form business alliances through networking events and individualized meetings.
The organization provides quarterly business linkages "summits" in different geographic regions, featuring a few high-profile speakers, with the main focus on networking. The emphasis is on putting people together so that they can get business done. Increased international and regional trade as well as stimulating growth in the IT sector can be accomplished through increased opportunities to network with key decision makers.
Development Sector(s): Information Technology, Trade and Investment
ICT Intervention(s): Capacity Building, Public Administration, Public/Private Partnerships, Web site/portal
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