A global initiative ideated by Nextrade in 2013 and built up with the UN into a multi-agency global alliance
In 2013, after realizing from eBay's groundbreaking data how ecommerce was enabling developing country small businesses to export, Nextrade Founder Kati Suominen wrote an article about the need for a new initiative she branded as Aid for eTrade, to bring the global public and private sectors together and invest in ecommerce development in developing nations.
In 2014, eBay supported a further elaboration of the idea, published via CSIS.
In 2014-15, Suominen continued working on the idea through the e15 intiative and in the 2015 Global Aid fro Trade review and World Summit on the Information Society Forum 2015 in Geneva.
In 2015, the United Nations hired Nextrade to develop the idea further, including via a workshop with leading development agencies and private sector representatives in Geneva.
The intiative was in the course of this work rebranded into eTrade for All. Nextrade brought over 30 companies as well as selected development agencies to support it.
The eTrade for All initiative was launched in Nairobi in 2016, by UN officials, donors, private sector leaders; Nextrade Group CEO moderated the launch panel.
She continued to evangelize the importance of public-private partnerships in ecommerce development in the 2017 the OECD-WTO Aid for Trade Review.