The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its joint mandate combines a focus on expanding trade opportunities with the aim of fostering sustainable development. The Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) Programme has established a T4SD Hub in Vietnam to support Vietnamese SMEs to implement more sustainable business practices and access foreign markets.

The e-commerce training programme for coaches, which is implemented by the ITC e-commerce programme ecomConnect, is part of the T4SD Hub component Positioning sustainable products in the international market. The e-commerce training programme has been designed to help 15 Vietnamese SMEs in the handicraft sector to sell their products to European and US customers through an international online marketplace.