BERLIN, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Postal company Deutsche Post DHL and Germany's Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced on Wednesday to invest in e-commerce in developing and emerging economies so that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could better access global markets.
The project would focus on Africa, initially Morocco, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana and Ivory Coast and would seek to reduce trade barriers through the use of digital solutions, according to a joint statement.
Deutsche Post DHL and BMZ announced to jointly invest 30 million euros (35 million U.S. dollars) over the next few years to support the digitization of customs and trade processes and promote e-commerce as well as low-emission logistics in cities.
"With a new digital system, we are helping medium-sized African companies to handle customs completely digitally," said Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Muller in the statement.
The COVID-19 crisis and the resulting lockdowns and restrictions to public life had "disrupted supply chains in developing countries," said Muller, stressing that "millions of companies are fighting for survival." Enditem