Rewiring Global Trade for Small Businesses

Research proposal by Christine Pamela Chandrakasan

1 | Why This, Why Now

"The architecture of global exchange remains top-heavy."

MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) make up 90% of global firms but capture only a sliver of international trade.

Just five countries dominate 40% of all global trade (US, China, Germany, Japan, UK), leaving much of the Global South underrepresented.

As a startup founder in Malaysia, I've faced cross-border friction, including currency mismatches, fragmented regulations, and logistical inefficiencies. These challenges consumed more than 60% of my operational bandwidth.

During COVID-19:
70% of Malaysian small businesses suffered severe sales losses.
Over 176,000 permanently closed.

Guiding Question: What if the next era of globalization were built around participation, not power?

2 | Core Research Questions

This study investigates three key barriers to small-business global trade:

• Capital Constraints: Can technology-enabled finance provide small firms with more resilient and inclusive capital access?
• Digital Adoption: What patterns and design principles enable long-term, sustainable digital tool adoption in under-resourced communities?
• Logistics Access: Can community-based, modular logistics improve export predictability and reduce trade barriers?

3 | What's Missing in Existing Trade Models

• Structural Vulnerability: MSMEs absorb global shocks but are often left out of recovery plans.
• Digital Maturity Gap: 66% of Brazil's small firms are offline; in Asia-Pacific, 84% are "digital observers."
• Currency Dependence: Single currency reliance exposes firms to external shocks. Blockchain tools such as Bitcoin offers a potential neutral digital settlement layer.
• Logistical Fragmentation: High costs, poor traceability, and infrastructure gaps block exports.
• Policy Bias Toward Large Firms: Trade policies favor incumbents, validating Krugman, North, Rodrik, Krueger, Bhagwati's observations.

How This Bias Shows Up Today: Tax breaks, certifications, digital platform dominance, and inaccessible trade finance all compound MSME exclusion.

4 | Comparative Scope: Focus Countries and Policy Lenses

Focus Countries (Core Comparative Cases): Malaysia, Ghana, Colombia

Reason: Represent three trade-reliant, structurally constrained economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Additional Lenses (Contextual/Policy Cases): Cambodia, Laos, Kenya, Nigeria, El Salvador, Ecuador, Vietnam, United States (Midwest)

Reason: To capture variation across contexts — frontier markets (Cambodia, Laos), fintech leaders (Kenya, El Salvador), resource-constrained large markets (Nigeria, Ecuador), rapid industrializers (Vietnam), and advanced-but-declining regions (U.S. Midwest).

5 | Precedents That Work

• Taobao Villages: Connected rural producers to global markets through digital tools.
• Germany's Hidden Champions: Niche firms supported by export-friendly policies.

6 | Research Methodology

1. U.S.-Based Research: Use datasets from distressed regions (Rust Belt, rural Midwest).
2. Global Fieldwork: Interviews, open-source prototypes, surveys across SE Asia, Africa, Latin America.
3. Policy Co-Creation: Create scalable toolkits with regulators and local networks.

7 | Researcher Qualifications

• Background in engineering, innovation, and entrepreneurship
• Cross-border startup founder
• Mentor/advisor to 100+ startups and corporations
• Author of a book on ecosystem innovation strategy

8 | Expected Contributions

• Create open-source tools, policy templates, and logistics prototypes
• Partner with impact ventures and global institutions
• Advance a new vision: "Globalization has long favored the powerful. It's time it favored the builder."

FAQs

Q: What is the central goal?
A: To empower small businesses in global trade using digital, financial, and logistical innovation.

Q: Why Malaysia, Ghana, and Colombia?
A: They represent three trade-reliant, structurally constrained economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Ideal to study both challenges and opportunities.

Q: How does Bitcoin help?
A: It diversifies currency exposure for MSMEs and lets firms transact with more autonomy.

Q: What is community-based logistics?
A: Shared, localized transport systems modeled after Grab, Gojek, Mercado Envios.

Q: What's new here?
A: Small-firm-first, open-source tools and policy design that scale locally and globally.

Q: What are open-source policy templates?
A: Drafts built with local stakeholders to reduce adoption barriers and scale inclusion.