Agility, Kuwait National Fund Help Small Businesses Sell Online

New Bee3kw.com portal helps sellers build online stores, manage payments and logistics

KUWAIT – July 29, 2020 – The National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development and Agility, a leading global logistics provider, and the today announced the launch of the https://bee3kw.com/, a portal that offers small businesses quick access to resources they need to build an electronic store and grow their digital sales.

Bee3kw.com grew out of an initiative by the Kuwait National Fund and Agility to help small businesses move from offline to online sales quickly.

Manaf Almenaifi, Director General of the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprise Development, said the National Fund is keen to provide new services of the highest standards for entrepreneurs to benefit from while also taking into consideration the developments in the local and global markets.

He said the National Fund aims to provide digital services that proved to be strong performers before the current crisis. He urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Bee3kw.com initiative so they could begin their e-commerce journeys with the tools they need to succeed.

Almenaifi said this initiative is the beginning of the National Fund’s collaboration with the private sector in e-commerce and welcomed more cooperation with service providers from local companies who wish to provide special offers and services to Kuwaiti entrepreneurs, who will be major contributors to national economic growth in the future.

Merchants joining Bee3kw.com will get six-month free trials with leading Middle East e-commerce enablers ExpandCart and Zid. ExpandCart and Zid, both Agility partners, allow merchants and social sellers with no technical expertise to establish online stores in as little as a couple of hours and choose their own payment gateway, shipping, fulfilment and delivery solutions. In addition, online payment partners to this initiative, TAP and Myfatoorah, will help business owners with payment solutions that can support their business as they set up their new digital store. Through Shipa Delivery, merchants will get on-demand same-day, next-day or cross-border delivery in Kuwait and across the Arabian Gulf.

Henadi Al-Saleh, Agility Chairperson and leader of Agility’s logistics venture strategy, said: “Because of the current crisis, online selling is key to both growth and survival for many small businesses. Consumers have turned to e-commerce and this shift in buying patterns could be permanent. The faster merchants adapt by building attractive, efficient, low-cost, easy-to-use digital stores, the more likely they are to thrive in the current environment and in the future.”

Through Bee3kw.com, small and medium businesses will benefit from more than 10 training sessions on various topics that will help them move online. The topics will cover switching to e-commerce, online payment solutions, branding, digital marketing, and more. The sessions will be conducted online and led by experts from Bee3kw.com partner companies.

Fahad Alshatti, SVP Agility Corporate Venture team, added: “Supporting small and medium-sized businesses is crucial during these times. Efforts by Agility and the National Fund towards this segment, especially during COVID-19, demonstrate our joint commitment to nurturing local talents and helping them grow despite challenges they may be facing. We are providing all the things they require to help them on their online journey. At Agility Ventures, our goal is to develop and grow the e-commerce ecosystem to benefit both businesses and consumers in our market.”