POTOMAC, MD, Nov. 18, 2021 — Maryland-based Sparo announced that it has been selected by the Curaçao Industrial and International Trade Development Company, NV (Curinde) as its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partner to advance the e-commerce footprint of Caribbean-based merchants through www.tropicshopping.com.
Rob Sobhani, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Sparo said: “We are honored and humbled to have been selected by Curinde to connect the wonderful homegrown products of the Caribbean region to American shoppers.” Sparo will leverage its patented CSR tools on behalf of www.tropicshopping.com to help drive online sales and customer loyalty for merchants in the Caribbean.
Jacqueline Jansen the CEO of Curinde stated: “We are delighted to team up with Sparo and to create a win-win outcome for small and medium sized businesses in Curaçao and the Caribbean. Our partnership with Sparo will allow the economic development of Curaçao by better integrating our e-commerce ecosystem into the U.S. and beyond through www.tropicshopping.com.” In addition, Ms. Jansen stated that this partnership with Sparo is an important achievement since signing of the Letter of Intent between Curinde and CINEX, Curaçao Investment and Export Promotion.
Curinde launched www.tropicshopping.com in partnership with U.S.-based investment firm P3 Capital, in response to growing global demand for Caribbean produced products. Curinde hopes to leverage ecommerce innovation in order to increase merchants access to the over $1.2 trillion global ecommerce market. James Barchiesi, CEO of www.tropicshopping.com’s lead U.S. partner P3 Capital stated: “The incorporation of Sparo’s CSR technology into Tropic Shopping’s portfolio of ecommerce innovations provides merchants with a powerful and competitive tool for reaching new customers while making a positive social impact on society.”
Andrea McNaughton, Sparo’s Chief Charity Officer stated: “This marriage of CSR, philanthropy and e-commerce at www.tropicshopping.com is very exciting and opens new opportunities for donors in the U.S. to see the beauty of the Caribbean and the soul of its generous people.” And Daniel Katz, the CMO of Sparo mentioned: “We look forward to leveraging our charity partners to drive traffic for www.tropicshopping.com merchants and introduce new CSR and e-commerce technologies in collaboration with Microsoft such as predictive logistics to allow more access for Caribbean products to be bought by American shoppers.”
In March 2021, www.tropicshopping.com was opened as the global portal for buying products from Curaçao and the Caribbean. The vision is bold but simple: help create jobs for citizens of the Caribbean by integrating this WooCommerce-based shopping portal into the global economy. Ms. Jansen said: “Sparo’s Purchase with a Purpose mission will allow Americans to buy products from the Caribbean and make an impact with every purchase.”
Sparo is a Microsoft for Startups Partner. Curinde is the Industrial and International Trade Development Company, NV of Curaçao.
Media Contact: Fiorina Hernandez, Investment Promotion Manager; info@curinde.com
Media Contact: Rob Sobhani, Ph.D.: rob@sparo.com