5 Reasons The Commonwealth Is Emerging Into A Global Marketplace

“The Commonwealth continues to play a leading role in global affairs. The wonderful thing about the Commonwealth is the strength we all derive from our ability to share our experiences and learn from each other.” — Prime Minister of Fiji J.V. Bainimarama

$2.2 trillion.

That’s the amount of sales the e-commerce industry reached globally at the end of 2017. Mind you, the e-commerce industry is still considered to be in its infancy, and is being forecast to reach $4.4 trillion by 2021.

That’s a pretty big pie.

And while the dominant players Amazon, Alibaba, and eBay have been the forefronts, the success and popularity of these giants have led to the growth and success of other marketplaces across the globe.

And this is where the Commonwealth comes in.

In previous articles, we discussed using p2p financing, smart contracts, and smart warehouses as a way for you to take advantage of the huge emerging financial opportunity that is e-commerce in the Commonwealth.

But just how huge are we talking? National scale? Multinational? Global?

And that brings us to the purpose of this article — giving you a better understanding of the Commonwealth and its market size. Let’s breakdown the five reasons the Commonwealth of Nations will become a global marketplace.

What Makes The Commonwealth Special?

In order to gain an understanding of the market size of the Commonwealth, it’s important to first understand what the Commonwealth is.

The Commonwealth is an association of 53 independent states, comprising of large and small, landlocked and island economies that work together to pursue common goals which promote development, democracy and peace.

The Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. It’s comprised of Africa (19 countries), Asia (7), the Caribbean and Americas (13), Europe (3), and the Pacific (11).

The current global economic climate makes this a good time to take a fresh look at the Commonwealth nations and their emerging markets.

1) 2.3 Billion Citizens

The Commonwealth contributes significantly to the global market size, accounting for roughly 2.3 billion citizens across 53 independent countries. More than 60 percent of this population is aged 29 or under. Both of these things provide the Commonwealth the position to become a global trade powerhouse through e-commerce.

2) Global Workforce

By 2020, 40% of the global workforce will be in the Commonwealth. By the middle of the century, the Commonwealth is expected to add a further 800 million to its workforce.

The amount of growth to come from the Commonwealth is staggering. Holding such a large concentration and expansion of the global workforce leads Commonwealth nations to having more consumers and higher GDP.

3) 1 Billion Consumers

As a result of the rapidly increasing workforce, the Commonwealth is adding to its middle class faster than any other grouping. It is estimated that the Commonwealth will contain over 1 billion middle class consumers by 2020. Such an enormous number of consumers commands attention.

For perspective, there are roughly 7 billion people in the world today. Although this isn’t the case since not every person is a consumer, let’s just say that each of those 7 billion people were considered to be a consumer.

That means that 1 in every 7 consumers in the world are located within the Commonwealth. That is a staggering number when you look at the marketplace size and buying power that comes along with it.

4) GDP of U$14 Trillion

The Commonwealth includes some of the world’s largest, smallest, richest and poorest countries, spanning five regions. The combined GDP of these countries is estimated to reach U$14 trillion by 2020 (up from U$10 trillion in 2017).

To give you some perspective the US economy is estimated to reach U$23 trillion by 2020. The global market size of the Commonwealth is expanding rapidly. In fact, between 2013 and 2015 Commonwealth countries grew at a combined rate of 4.1% in comparison to 1.8% in the EU and 2.6% in the US.

With such high growth in GDP, the Commonwealth is truly emerging onto the global stage as a global marketplace.

5) The Commonwealth Factor

Potentially the biggest advantage leading the Commonwealth to becoming a global marketplace is The Commonwealth Factor. The Commonwealth Factor makes it on average 19% cheaper to do business between Commonwealth countries.

This is in thanks to similar legal structures and cultural similarities. The Commonwealth Factor has been paramount to the Commonwealth becoming a global marketplace. The Factor promotes and leads to the growth within, as well as the growth of the Commonwealth.

Interested in learning more about how InventoryClub can help you take advantage of the tremendous financial opportunity that is happening right now in the Commonwealth? Check out our whitepaper. More about us here.