Location
P.O.Box 2908 Damascus – Syria
Phone no.
(+) 963 11 33 44 391/2
P.O.Box 2908 Damascus – Syria
(+) 963 11 33 44 391/2
New directions… Developing a new service in digital marketing…
As a member of the BusinessMed Organization, the International Chamber of Commerce in Syria, in cooperation with the Syrian Enterprise and Business Centre, a member of the Anima Investment Network, hosted a project entitled “Med-Digital, development of a new service in digital marketing.” The project took place within the third round of the “Invest in Med” project, which is 75% funded by the European Commission. The second half of the project is set to start in April 2010.
Participants in the project:
• International Chamber of Commerce - Syria/Leader
• Syrian-Entreprise Business Centre (SEBC)
• The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon
• Estonia Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• ACC1O (Barcelona)
• CGEM - Confédération Générale des Entreprises, Morocco.
The project’s Idea
The project was created to provide guidance to small and medium sized enterprises on how to use digital marketing for success. Additionally, it was created to make them aware of the increasing use of the Internet among customers independently from the market, to inquire about the products and/or services available, and particularly to make purchasing decisions. The Internet is characterized today as one of the most important factors of communication in the Mediterranean region for consumers. Because of this, those institutions that lack a coherent strategy for digital marketing are losing a great opportunity for sustainable competition.
The project, therefore, aims to improve the skills of the economic operators on the technologies related to “e- business” in the Mediterranean countries, and to diagnose the current situation for the use of electronic business technologies in the targeted countries (Lebanon, Syria and Morocco), and developing a new tool to promote the electronic business. Such technologies will be transferred to the Mediterranean partners.
Phases of the project
The project consists of 3 main phases:
1st Phase: (Syria, Lebanon and Morocco)
Diagnostician of the situation in the Mediterranean countries (Syria, Lebanon, Morocco), where experts from Spain visit Syria and Lebanon in mid-April, and then visit Morocco in mid-May, to study the situation of those countries, and do a survey to measure the level of using electronic business solutions in small and medium enterprises.
2nd Phase: Tallinn, Estonia
According to the data form the 1st Phase, there will be a workshop in Tallinn, the proposed date to be held is between 20 and 23 September 2010, under which staff of the partners from Syria, Lebanon and Morocco - will be subject to training on the digital marketing services tools. They will also be provided with information about new services, the mechanism of supporting small and medium enterprises, and how to encourage the use of electronic trade.
3rd Phase: (Syria, Lebanon and Morocco)
Professional experts from Catalonia will visit Syria, Lebanon and Morocco to identify the added value for 10 Mediterranean SMEs from the new services developed by this project.
The ICC Syria, thus invites all small and medium enterprises to participate and get the benefit from this project and that’s through contacting the ICC Syria offices. For more information, please call Tel: 011 / 33 44 391.
MED Digital commences work in Syria, Lebanon, and Morocco
Carles Revilla, a Spanish digital marketing expert, visited Syria on May 17th and 18th, 2010, during which time he held an official meeting with Dr. Ahmad Basel al-Khashi, Deputy Minister of Communication, and Dr. Rakan Razzouk, Chairman of the Syrian Computer Society - SCS. Revilla’s visit to Syria comes under Phase 1 of the MED Digital Project, which comprises situation diagnosis in MED countries (Syria, Lebanon, and Morocco).
The MED Digital Project – “Development of a new service in digital marketing” –, which is 75% funded by the EU, aims to promote the use of electronic solutions and the web as an efficient means of marketing the products and services of SMEs in MED countries. The EU contracted with several bodies to implement the project during the third call of the “Invest in Med” project. The contractors include ICC Syria, the Syrian Enterprise & Business Centre (SEBC), The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon, Estonia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIAB), ACC1O (Barcelona), and CGEM (Morocco).
During his visit to Syria, Revilla also visited leading Syrian companies who work in the field of electronic solutions and the web, and met with representatives of the regulatory committees and agencies which oversee the sector Revilla also held several meetings in the Chamber Headquarter with representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Trade in Lebanon, as well as with experts and officials from the chambers of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture in Beirut, between May 19th and 21st, 2010.. In Morocco, the last stopping point in this phase, Revilla held several meetings with members and representatives of the Union of Moroccan enterprises during the period between June 30th and July 2, 2010. The aim of these meetings was to diagnose the status of internet usage in the country.
Another point worth mentioning is that Phase 2 of the project will be launched during the first week of October in the Estonian capital Tallinn. During phase 2, large scale workshops will be conducted to train employees of partner centers (business support centers) from Syria, Lebanon and Morocco on digital marketing tools and provide them with information on the new services and on the mechanism designed to support SMEs and encourage the utilization of e marketing.
A training in MED Digital
October 5th- 6th, 2010
Tallinn, Estonia
Within the second operation of the MED Digital Project - (Med Digital to develop a new digital marketing service), the International Chamber of Commerce - Syria in collaboration with Estonia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held a training course to prepare consultants on Med Digital in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia on October 5th- 6th, 2010.
The course provided participants with information on the new services of digital marketing services and the mechanism designed to support SMEs and encourage the utilization of e-commerce. The course aimed at supporting and promoting the use of electronic solutions and web as an essential and effective promotion and marketing instruments of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) products and services in Mediterranean countries.
The course came on the recommendations of the initial report of operation 1of MED Digital Project, which include the rehabilitation experts and consultants in digital marketing and business support in order to qualify them to provide consulting services for small and medium-sized companies in the Mediterranean countries. .
Experts and consultants from ICC Syria, SEBC, The Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (CCIAB) in addition to others bodies have participated in the course. .
The course reviewed the initial report results of operation 1 of MED Digital Project which comprised situation diagnosis in MED countries (Syria, Lebanon and Morocco), the Internet use and development and government support for digital marketing opportunities in these countries.
The course addressed digital marketing details, the concept of search engines and e-mail marketing. The course was also an opportunity for participants to acquire more skills on how to find the form and structure in their organizations to support the use of digital marketing. The course was an incubator for participants from the Mediterranean and European countries for experiences and knowledge exchange in various areas of e-solutions.
The MED Digital Project, funded partially by the European Union (EU), is being led by ICC Syria and in cooperation with: SEBC, CCIAB, Estonia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, COPCA (Barcelona) and CGEM - Confédération Générale des Entreprises.