ITC SheTrades and Visa: Asia Pacific
Igniting Women’s Economic Empowerment in Asia Pacific
ITC SheTrades and Visa have partnered since July 2023 to advance women’s entrepreneurial development and foster inclusive growth across the Asia Pacific region.
About the project
Visa is committed to being a trusted partner for micro and small businesses as they navigate today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. This collaboration with ITC SheTrades supports women-led businesses by providing access to digital tools, financial resources and educational content to achieve their business aspirations.
Upcoming activities
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Mentorship Programme: Between October and November 2024, selected women entrepreneurs will be matched with Visa experts to receive mentorship on digital banking, payments and commerce.
Past activities
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Partner Networking Workshop in Manila, Philippines (4 – 6 December 2023): 100 Filipina entrepreneurs participated in a workshop to tackle the challenges of exporting and investment competitiveness. This flagship event was launched on the sidelines of National Exporters Week by the Department of Trade and Industry (SheTrades Philippines Hub).
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‘Harnessing Digital Solutions for Financial Success’ Webinar Series (13 – 27 June 2024): Hosted a three-part webinar series, where 278 participants from 56 markets gained practical insights on financial planning, digitalization, access to capital, and learned how to use Visa’s online resources to upscale their businesses.
The ITC-Visa Self-Assessment Tool
Access the ITC-Visa Self-Assessment Tool to evaluate your business competitiveness! This tool will help you gain a deeper understanding of your business’s current standing, pinpoint areas for improvement, and offer personalized insights to guide your business development strategy.
How to access the ITC-Visa Self Assessment Tool:
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Access the platform here.
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Log in to your account—or create one if you don’t have one.
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Start the assessment and complete it at your own pace.
For additional guidance, please refer to the instructions outlined in this guide or check out this webinar, which features insights from ITC experts.
Visa Solutions for Small Businesses
Visa offers a suite of innovative solutions designed to empower small and micro businesses by enhancing their payment processes, improving financial management, and providing robust security measures. Here are some key Visa solutions:
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Click-to-Pay provides a seamless online checkout experience that allows customers to pay with a single click, simplifying the payment process and enhancing customer satisfaction.
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Tap-to-Phone enables businesses to accept contactless payments directly on their NFC-enabled smartphones without additional hardware, making it cost-effective and convenient for on-the-go transactions.
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Visa Direct offers a real-time cross-border and domestic payment solution that allows businesses to send funds directly to eligible debit and prepaid cards, accelerating payments and enhancing cash flow management.
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Small Business Cards provide tailored credit and debit card solutions designed specifically for small businesses, offering features like expense management tools, rewards, and cashback to help manage business expenses and provide access to credit.
Additional Resources from Visa Partners
Basic Financial Literacy and Business Skills
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Practical Money Skills:
A global digital financial literacy education programme that equips micro and small business owners with essential tools for managing personal finances. The programme covers budgeting, savings, investing, credit management, and debt reduction, ensuring financial well-being and stability.
Courses available in English, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia -
Practical Business Skills:
A comprehensive digital resource platform designed to enhance business operations for micro and small business owners. It offers tools and insights for effective business financial management, strategic marketing, operational efficiency, and business planning, empowering owners to drive sustainable growth.
Courses available in English
Business Resources and Support
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Visa Small Business Hub:
A digital platform designed to support micro and small business owners. It provides valuable resources, tools, and expert insights on financial management, marketing strategies, digital payments, and growth planning, enabling business owners to improve efficiency, increase profitability, and navigate challenges effectively. -
Small Business, Big Future:
A collection of thought leadership research papers focused on micro and small businesses, offering insights, strategies and tools to navigate modern business complexities and achieve long term success.
Unlocking growth opportunities for SMBs with digital payments
Enhancing SMB cybersecurity and payment fraud prevention -
‘Harnessing Digital Solutions for Financial Success’ Webinar Series
A three-part webinar series on financial planning, digitalization, access to capital, and how to use Visa’s online resources to upscale your business.
Recordings available:
Session 1 – Future Ready: Effective Financial Planning
Session 2 – Digital Solutions for Small Businesses
Session 3 – Navigating the Path to Capital -
Visa Recommerce Hub
A specialized digital platform focused on supporting businesses in the recommerce sector. This hub helps businesses resell pre-owned, refurbished, or recycled goods effectively, driving both profitability and environmental sustainability. It offers resources and tools to optimize operations, enhance sustainability practices, and tap into the growing market for circular economy solutions. -
‘Tourism Destination Resilience’ Programme by Visa x Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Expanding on the Tourism Destination Resilience programme, Visa and PATA have developed two new online learning modules, ‘Financial Skills for Tourism SMEs’ and ‘Digital Skills for Tourism SMEs’, which are available in six languages on the Sustainability Resource Centre platform. -
‘Build Back Better’ Programme by Visa x United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)
To enhance the resilience of micro and small businesses in Bangladesh, UNCDF and Visa partnered to develop e-learning modules with national e-commerce platforms. These modules, covering financial and digital literacy skills, offer proprietary learning content, audio-visual tools, and app-based resources. -
Daraz University Platform
Small and micro businesses on the Daraz platform can virtually access Daraz University for business upskilling. The platform provides exclusive resources, tools, services, and support centre access, enabling sellers to enhance their business operations and market reach. -
‘Accelerate My Business’ Programme by Visa x The Asia Foundation
To address the growing gender digital skills divide in Asia Pacific, the Asia Foundation, through its Future Skills Alliance, collaborated with Visa to launch the Accelerate My Business programme. This initiative offers tailored support to help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses in the digital economy.
Visa Initiatives and Programmes
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She’s Next, Empowered by Visa Initiative
A programme dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs, it provides resources, funding, networking opportunities and mentorship to help women business owners overcome challenges, grow their businesses, and achieve long-term success. -
Visa Accelerator Programme
A targeted initiative aimed at fostering the growth of innovative startups in the fintech space. It offers mentorship, resources and opportunities to collaborate with Visa’s extensive network, accelerating growth and market reach. -
Visa Inclusive Fintech Accelerator
A specialized accelerator programme promoting inclusivity in the fintech sector. It supports underrepresented entrepreneurs and startups by providing mentorship, resources, and access to Visa’s ecosystem to scale their operations and drive financial inclusion.
Funder
