Small Business

©iStock/LDProd China has more than a billion people and is tapping into markets such as India and Africa -- capturing markets that account for more like three to four billion users, in places with fast emerging middle classes. "If you are banker and you are in transaction banking, you are foolish if you think in five years' time the majority of your customers' transactions will be conventional supply chain transactions, or conventional trade transactions. They and a growing host of new businesses, often global SMEs, will be trading through platforms like Alibaba. So the banking side of the business will gravitate towards Alibaba, and there may be one or two other platforms competing alongside them." For example, if we are leaning toward a platform-based global commerce economy, what about Google, Facebook, eBay and Amazon?  Don't underestimate their capabilities. Read more:   Alibaba advances:  How China is using fin tech to take control of global trade

©iStock/tanuha2001 Facebook is making it easier for small businesses to show what they "bring to the world" with their new business tool called ' Your Business Story '.  Further, the number of advertisers using Facebook has doubled over the past two years, with more than 70 percent of businesses buying ads are from outside the US.  The largest increase in interest is from Southeast Asia. Read more:   Facebook hits 3 million advertisers and reveals plan to woo small businesses

©iStock/Rasulovs Ever hear of Instagram?  Thought so.  But have you heard it defined as the "look book' for brands people love and the shop window for small businesses on mobile?  That's according to The Drum's, " Instagram attracts over 200,000 advertisers following global expansion ." James Quarles, global head of business and brand development at Instagram said the site was "proving a valuable place for discovering businesses around the world." According to Instagram (owned by Facebook), some 75 percent of the app's active advertisers looking to appeal to Instagram's 400-million strong user base are located outside of the US. Read more here .

©iStock/Rasulovs In order to strengthen its advertising operations, Instagram is going global.  It will focus on small businesses and users outside the US, as its sales operations rely more extensively on those of Facebook, its parent. Ms Levine [ chief operation officer Instagram; Facebook VP ] added that international expansion was a priority, with 75 percent of its more than 400 million users based outside the United States. Users Brazil:  29 million (second largest market outside United States) Germany:  9 million  UK:  more than 14 million Read more: Instagram to ramp up efforts to lure small businesses

©iStock/Tanuha2001 Two things worth noting about recent developments at Facebook. They've: Created a searchable directory on local service providers in an attempt to break into the local advertising market that could potentially expand to online-to-offline services assuming an integration with FB Messenger. Announced a partnership with Uber that allows messenger users to hail Uber rides directly via the messenger app. Find out how this will strengthen Facebook's ecosystem: Facebook:  Act Local, Think Global