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Digital Trade Hub

Azerbaijan's Digital Trade HubIt is the first e-trade and e-commerce portal guaranteed by the government. The launch of Digital Trade Hub is a leading factor behind the country's 27% rise in non-oil exports, supporting local producers reaching external markets.

 

 

Innovation Summary

Innovation Overview

Digital Trade Hub addresses the need for globally interoperable solutions through basic research with respect to the foundations of trust and trustworthiness, actively support the standardization process in relevant areas, and provide trustworthy services which will ease the use of eID, mID and electronic signature technology in real world applications.
All transactions are legally bound according to Digital Trade Hub partner country legislation. One of the unique attributes of the Digital Trade Hub is its arrangement based on the public–private partnership principle and corporate governance standards. Private companies are involved in the development of the platform and in building cross-border e-services. The Digital Trade Hub is integrated with global e-commerce players like Amazon, eBay, Alibaba, etc. It offers useful cross-border e-services including B2B and B2G services, customs operations between Digital Trade Hub partner countries, online company registration, online bank accounts and more. Validation scheme of e-signatures between Digital Trade Hub partner countries following the EU’ e-IDAS standard. The Digital Trade Hub enables showing how practical compliant applications can be constructed and utilized with the aid of the developed Digital Trade Hub components to ensure direct presentation of European electronic products and services from all 26 member countries, GUAM countries and all other partnership-countries all over the World to Azerbaijan and vice versa.

Innovation Description

What Makes Your Project Innovative?

Digital Trade Hub addresses the need for globally interoperable solutions through basic research with respect to the foundations of trust and trustworthiness, actively support the standardization process in relevant areas, and provide trustworthy services which will ease the use of e-ID, m-ID and electronic signature technology in real world applications.
Azexport.az is the part of Digital Trade & Cross Border Data Flows launched in 2016 year. In the first year of activity 476 Million USD was generated to export from azexport.az portal, to a total of 74 countries. Main export countries are Russia (18.7 %), USA (8.6%), Turkey (6.7%), UK (5.7%), Iran (5.1%), India (4.0%), Ukraine (3.7%), Saudi Arabia (3.2%), Georgia (2.7%), Kazakhstan (2.7%). This achievement by local entrepreneurs together with the government is strengthening and diversifying its economy.

What is the current status of your innovation?

All of the technological and legal conditions have been successfully implemented since 2010 Azerbaijan launched a secure-data-exchange platform for e-government that expanded into the Digital Trade Hub. In 2013 it followed up a national Digital Mobile Identity called ASAN Imza, which generated more than 30M transactions.
We are committed to provide our clients the highest standards of digital security for international trade. With the knowledge and expertise Digital Trade Hub helps businesses deploy ready solutions to meet their goals across the world. Azerbaijan which has experienced impressive economic growth over the past two decades, is a homeland of a friendly and hospitable business environment welcoming and encouraging all foreign investment.
The country’s oil-focused economy is being diversified creating new business opportunities within the agricultural, construction, education, communications and tourism sectors and ICT. At the moment Azerbaijan’s rank is 57 according to the World Bank.

Innovation Development

Collaborations & Partnerships

• CAERC
• ISESCO
• GUAM
• NAFTA
• ASEAN
• UNCITRAL
• UNESCAP
• E-Trade for all
• EU- ASSECO
• Russia- GAZINFORMSERVICE
• ITU

Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries

The end users are companies that either import or export from foreign countries and are looking to streamline the whole process for maximum business benefits. The stakeholders include governments at a national level with a focus on Customs.

Innovation Reflections

Results, Outcomes & Impacts

Digital Trade Hub of Azerbaijan is a great example of cooperation between public and private sectors in e-commerce. The concept is very significant for creation of the single electronic and digital environment throughout the Silk Road as well as within Europe. Digital Trade Hub enables non-residents in Azerbaijan to carry out operations to open LLCs, bank accounts, hire employees, carry out export-import operations after receiving electronic signatures. It allows Digital Trade Hub to be an electronic “single window” for export, when any Azerbaijan exporter can go through all required procedures by means of a computer or any mobile device to prepare documents and processing of product exports without leaving the office. The user can access e-Trade services easily through various methods including web portals, solutions, e-services according to the different IT environments. Transactions are safe from fraud, forgery and financial incidents since Digital Trade Hub can be be accessed by authorized users only.

Challenges and Failures

The main challenge is not technological, but political. In order to succeed, all of us the companies and governments need to show join initiative to connect and start building the ecosystem of partnership and trust.
Currently we are overcoming those challenges by spreading the idea and educating the right people with the needed knowledge at international events hosted specifically to solve the global e-trade future challenges.

Conditions for Success

Laws, rules, standards and regulations need to catch up with technology.
The mutual acceptance of each other’s digital identities and e-signatures is pivotal for global electronic trade and interoperability to foster. By harmonizing and consolidating requirements for e-signatures across governments, we increase trust and traceability in e-transactions. The regulation covers standards for e-signatures, qualified digital certificates, electronic seals, timestamps and other proof of authentication mechanisms enabling e-transactions performed on paper. According to the Presidential Decree «Asan İmza» will be issued to the foreign citizens in all diplomatic representatives of Azerbaijan all around the world and in accordance with which the users registered on the portal via «Asan İmza» and taxpayers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, will be able to make and sign the contracts with their foreign business partners electronically.

Replication

This innovation is the first of its kind in the world.

Lessons Learned

We would be happy to share our experience, technology and digital infrastructure with all countries willing to test the idea out. Our experience has shown, that its better to benchmark already working solutions and to customize it according to your local needs.

Anything Else?

B.EST Solutions (established in 2008) is an e-and m-Government solutions provider, as well as the operator of the world’s fastest growing digital identity (Mobile-ID) called Asan Imza in Azerbaijan since 2013. As a company packed with international experience and best brains in the business, we combine technology and business models into coherent ecosystems for clients ranging from the business to the public sector. Our security and privacy parameters enable dynamic combinations of electronic identity federation with multiple electronic identity backbones to be provided to the same service, providing a foundation for market convergence and innovative new cross-sector partnerships.
B.EST Solutions has a deep understanding of electronic identity federations, strengthening interoperability and mutual trust, and most importantly on how to join up countries and regions not solely from our Azerbaijan or EU experience but in a global sense.

Year: 2017
Level of Government: National/Federal government

Status:

  • Implementation - making the innovation happen

Innovation provided by:

Date Published:

25 January 2017

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