For several years in a row, the capital authorities have been providing all kinds of assistance to Moscow enterprises engaged in international trade activities. For example, in the near future it is planned that the city will help 53 more exporters to be placed on the world's leading marketplaces.

Premium accounts will be created for 33 companies on Europages.com, the key European B2B marketplace. Another two dozen Moscow producers will be helped to open virtual stores on Ebay.com, a B2C marketplace. All this will be financed by the city - such a decision was made by the Moscow Export Center's (MEC) competition commissions.

Free premium accounts on Europages.com will appear for 33 Russian exporters working in 13 industries. Please be reminded that this B2B-platform is one of the world's largest marketplaces. At present the platform is visited by over 4 million users per day, and the total number of registered suppliers is about 3 million.

A premium account gives the owner good privileges. For example, it allows for priority ranking in the search system and covers the maximum possible number of keywords for a search query. According to the plan of the capital's authorities, the registration of such accounts for Moscow entrepreneurs will make it possible to bring their products to the first lines in the Google search system. Besides, the privileged profile holder on Europages.com platform will be able to expand the boundaries of its target audience to the maximum by placing up to two hundred products in the storefront and translation of the content into 15 languages.

Manufacturers of the following types of products will receive support from the city:

• electrical equipment;
• equipment, designed for medical purposes;
• clothes and textile production;
• cosmetic products;
• goods of chemical industry;
• furniture;
• transportation;
• IT products.

In addition, assistance in placing on the world's leading marketplaces will be provided to enterprises in the capital providing legal, logistical, audiovisual and linguistic services.

With the help of a special program developed by MEC, 20 more Moscow manufacturers from nine industries will be able to open their own stores on the platform Ebay.com. This platform is on the 26th line in the world in terms of attendance. For a month on this platform comes about 1 billion unique visitors.

Metropolitan authorities will not only assist in the design of accounts and opening virtual stores, but also train entrepreneurs on how to work with a personal account and listings, how to set up a business policy, etc. Exporters will learn how to sell with a price offer to the buyer, understand the intricacies of creating customs declarations and shipping receipts, learn the most popular methods of promoting goods and services, and how to use seller ratings. This direction will be open for the capital's manufacturers:

• equipment designed for medical purposes;
• musical equipment and instruments;
• electrical equipment;
• goods for the field of cosmetology;
• jewelry;
• food products;
• souvenirs;
• products of the chemical industry.

All those wishing to get acquainted closer with the program described above, and also to learn about other actual programs of exporters' support can apply on the official portal of the IETC. There you can also apply for participation in any project.

Let us remind that by the beginning of December 2020 about 150 Moscow exporting companies have already received assistance from the city authorities in placing their products on the world's leading trading floors. Alexei Fursin, the head of the Moscow Department of Business and Innovation Policy, emphasizes that the municipality enthusiastically supports local manufacturers in their desire to master international markets and virtual trading platforms. According to the official, in 2020, premium accounts on Europages.com were issued for 100 export-oriented companies in the capital. In addition, another 50 MEC firms were helped to open stores on Ebay.com.

The Moscow Export Center has been implementing various support measures (both financial and non-financial) for several years and is engaged in promotion of products of capital's manufacturers on the markets of other states. The institution is subordinated to the capital department of entrepreneurship and innovative development. The main tasks of the IETC activity are to bring as many as possible Moscow companies to international markets and help them to develop their trade activities in the foreign economy.

In addition to assistance in placing on international marketplaces, the capital authorities are actively developing their own digital platforms for exporters. For example, in late November 2020, Vladimir Yefimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations, said that the capital is actively developing an innovative digital platform for enterprises that sell products on the international market. According to the idea of the creators, the virtual platform will enable exporting companies to communicate with potential foreign buyers of their products directly, without the participation of third parties (intermediaries). This will simplify and significantly speed up the process of collaboration.

The list of foreign consumers interested in buying Russian products will be formed using a database provided by Mosprom. This institution was created specifically to assist Russian enterprises in operating in foreign commodity markets. Among other things, domestic suppliers will be able to leave applications on the platform that they wish to engage in foreign economic activities. The launch of the virtual platform is planned for this year. It will be possible to access the platform through Mosprom's official portal.