Arancha Gonzalez

Companies that operate across borders have the expertise SMEs need. Who better to help smallholder farmers navigate complex sustainability standards than the companies who demand - or set - them? ”

Around the world, it is much more difficult for women than for men to run a successful business. Even when laws are not explicitly biased against them, companies owned and operated by women often face discrimination every step of the way, from obtaining finance to finding customers. ”

China has proven that the wellbeing of citizens in a country doesn't necessarily contradict its engagement globally. ”

E-commerce is a powerful means to connect the unconnected to global trade. ”

For Latin American countries seeking to play a bigger role in global trade, effectively implementing trade-facilitating reforms could be an important tool in their toolkits. ”

What exactly is trade facilitation? In a nutshell, it is an effort to enable global trade by reducing red tape and streamline customs. In even simpler words: making it easier for companies to trade across borders. ”

Full social and political engagement is impossible without economic empowerment, a point that is as true for women as it is for young people of either gender. ”

Laws matter. With effective implementation and enforcement, good laws can nudge forward positive changes in social and cultural mores. ”

Look at a map of the world: the countries which do not trade much, or which trade only in oil and gas, tend to be in regions which suffer the most social and political instability. ”

The social and legal discrimination that relegates hundreds of women to subordinate or marginal economic roles has a huge aggregate cost. ”