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Strengthening E-commerce for Women-led MSMEs in Syria
📅 Date: 20 July 2026
🏷️ Theme: E-commerce | Women-led MSMEs | Digital Skills | AI | E-commerce Readiness | Gender-responsive Policies
The ESCWA Technology Centre met with the Deputy Minister for Internal Trade at the Ministry of Economy and Industry in Syria to discuss collaboration on advancing e-commerce for women-led MSMEs. The meeting explored opportunities to support women entrepreneurs in expanding their digital presence and improving access to local and regional markets through e-commerce.
The discussion focused on a two-component intervention.
- The first component aims to strengthen the capacities of women-led MSMEs through practical training on e-commerce, digital skills, and AI tools, enabling businesses to establish their own online stores or successfully sell through existing digital marketplaces.
- The second component focuses on assessing Syria's e-commerce readiness through a comprehensive framework covering digital payment systems, logistics, digital infrastructure, internet accessibility, cybersecurity, and the regulatory environment. The assessment will be complemented by stakeholder consultations to validate findings, identify key gaps and challenges, and develop policy recommendations and gender-responsive reforms that foster an enabling e-commerce ecosystem and strengthen the participation of women-led businesses.
ETC Contribution
The ESCWA Technology Centre presented its regional approach to supporting e-commerce ecosystem development, including:
- Capacity-building programmes on e-commerce, digital skills, and AI tools tailored for women-led MSMEs.
- Technical support for developing national e-commerce readiness assessments covering key ecosystem dimensions.
- Facilitation of multi-stakeholder consultations to identify barriers and validate findings.
- Development of evidence-based, gender-responsive policy recommendations to strengthen national e-commerce ecosystems and promote women's economic participation.
Partners: Ministry of Economy and Industry (Syria)