The 2024 Hunan (Changsha) Cross-border E-commerce Trade Fair opened in Changsha on August 30. Themed“Excellent Products from the Star City Cross the Seas,” a promotion and exchange meeting for Changsha's unique cross-border e-commerce industries was held during the fair. Gecko, China’s largest B2B platform for e-commerce cooperation with South Africa, was officially launched at the event.

Gecko connects hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized independent merchants in South Africa through a mature online dealer network. The platform has tens of thousands of square meters of large customs-supervised warehouses in both South Africa and China, providing merchants with efficient warehousing and logistical services.

Hunan is one of the most active provinces in terms of economic and trade ties with Africa, and the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo has long been hosted in Changsha. Gecko will locate its main business in Changsha, and Changsha will also become the main channel for the platform's commodities trade with Africa.

"Hunan's auto parts, hair products, and kitchen supplies are very popular in Africa, and African businesses want to find good sources for these goods, " said Zhang Xin, CEO of Gecko, adding that Hunan enterprises can also explore new overseas markets through the platform.

Gecko links small and medium-sized enterprises and resources in South Africa with supply chains and industrial belts in Changsha. Zhang Xin noted that the platform's scale is expected to reach 2 billion yuan within 2 years.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Kuang Zhenzhen

Chinese source: hunantoday