Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in textile and apparel sectors across the Asia-Pacific now have access to a free online platform to assess their ability to meet sustainability certifications—as increasingly demanded by buyers worldwide—and to build actionable plans to strengthen their participation in sustainable trade.

At the ITC Global SME Ministerial in Johannesburg, South Africa, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Mathieu Lamolle, Senior Advisor on Sustainable and Inclusive Value Chains at the International Trade Centre (ITC), to explore how the SME Standards Navigation Toolkit is helping small businesses meet sustainability requirements while unlocking access to finance and global markets.

Commerzbank’s Gerald Dannhaeuser, Regional Head of Financial Institutions for GCC, and Mehtap Ak-Sisman, Senior Representative in Dubai, consider how sustainability, tourism, international sports and technological innovation are driving new opportunities in the GCC. 

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At the ITC SME Ministerial in Johannesburg, South Africa, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Michael Marmon-Halm, Managing Director of Fairafric Chocolates, to discuss the intersection of sustainable manufacturing, trade policy, and access to finance in Ghana’s cocoa industry.

To learn more about the SME sustainability toolkit and discuss how this initiative could reshape SME access to sustainable trade and finance, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Aparna Soni from the ADB and Gregory Sampson from the ITC.

The latest round of negotiations for a legally binding global plastics treaty ended without agreement on Friday, as divisions among member states stalled progress on core provisions.

Small businesses have an unenviable status in the push for global climate action, being expected to lower emissions, bolster resilience, and remain competitive, all at the same time. For many of them, however, the tools, finance, or incentives to do so just aren’t there.

At the Tashkent International Investment Forum, Trade Treasury Payments (TTP) spoke with Izzet Gormez, Senior Project Development and Investment Executive at KOC Construction, to discuss the company’s unique development model, local economic contribution, and approach to sustainability in Uzbekistan’s growing urban centres.