Tomorrow's eCommerce needs quality specialists educated at a high level
Yuri Ivanov
Joom, member of the board
The European economy has faced a lot of challenges over the past two years due to Covid-19. The pandemic affected literally all industries, and eCommerce was no exception. However, at the same time, lockdowns stimulated the development of online shopping. If we look at a report issued by Ecommerce Europe and EuroCommerce in 2021, European eCommerce grew by 13% to 718 billion euros, and that growth rate has remained stable as compared to data from 2020.
It’s obvious that the future lies in new technologies such as digital, eCommerce and fintech, and that raises two important questions – do we have enough talent today, and do we invest enough in educating the next generation who will be driving the further development of new technologies?
Joom supports the Atis Kronvalds Foundation’s “Talent Development Ranking”
Everyone involved in the education sector in Latvia is familiar with the Atis Kronvalds Foundation and its contribution to the development of quality general education. The foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to identify the most talented students in Latvia and promote their education and development. Through its activities, the foundation aims to help the country support and encourage talented students who will one day be the intellectual pillars of the country.
Since 1988, the Atis Kronvalds Foundation has been ranking Latvian schools based on the results of their pupils in talent assessment events, including national and international Olympiads. The best school teams are awarded the “Travelling Owl Prizes” – the “Great Owl” and the “Little Owl” – for their successful work in developing students' talents. Each year, the best schools in various categories are selected on the basis of their pupils' achievements.
This year, the talent development ranking by the Atis Kronvalds Foundation is being supported by Joom.
We believe that it’s very important to highlight and support the best schools, teachers and students in these challenging times brought about by the pandemic and subsequent distance learning. It’s necessary to build a solid foundation for the next generation’s development and to stimulate talent selection and training in the future. Education being one of our greatest assets, it needs to be nurtured and developed early.
Joom as a platform for supporting education
We believe that the economy of the future will increasingly rely on a variety of digital solutions, and the eCommerce sector we represent has reached a whole new level, and it will only continue to evolve.
Therefore, we believe that the educational system of today should also work with the future in mind, namely in view of the growing demand for well-educated experts in the digital world. This undoubtedly also requires top-quality work from educators, and in order to stimulate and support quality education, Joom as an online platform decided this year to get involved in recognizing and awarding the best schools in Latvia.
Digital technologies are taking over the world
Joom is an international group of eCommerce and fintech companies founded in Latvia in 2016. It all began with an online shopping platform, and from the very beginning their focus was on international business – connecting consumers and sellers from all around the world. Today, Joom has more than 400 million users worldwide. The number of active users has already reached 25 million per month, while 16 million people make purchases per year – 90% of them on mobile devices.
However, in the face of Covid-19, Joom made the decision to develop its business in other areas such as payments, logistics, wholesale and even a pharma marketplace in Germany. Joom has developed into more than just one company - it’s a group of businesses which has almost 500 employees and dozens of offices in many countries around the world, including Germany, France, Luxembourg and Asia.
Joom currently unites the following businesses: Joom Marketplace – a platform for online shopping from all over the world; Onfy is a pharmaceutical marketplace in Germany; Joompay – a fintech service for daily financial transactions in Europe; and Joom Logistics – a business that provides logistics, technology and infrastructure services for cross-border eCommerce, and JoomPro – a platform for cross-border wholesale trade.