BNamericas: How will Redtienda help firms in doing business?

Olsson: Well, we have a solution that can benefit many Argentine firms. We are advising them about this, but we have also created a lot of special material for them (requiring a month of preparation). They will receive everything from Redtienda that any businessperson receives, including discounts and bonuses.

BNamericas: This program includes Redtienda products and services as well as instruction in their use?

Olsson: Yes. Operation Argentina has three points:

Giving easier access to Argentine businesspeople who are beginning to use the Internet and e-commerce to develop their business. What we can do is help them use Redtienda to open their own virtual stores. I hope that it will become a new business channel for many firms. It is necessary, especially when the situation is like it is.

Giving normal Argentineans who are looking for work and business opportunities a chance to make money. Well, they can use Redtiend and begin their own business online... but better than that they can use the Redtienda program to help their friends start working in e-commerce while at the same time making money.

Showing that Operation Argentina alone is an example of the good things that we [the people, the firm] can do to improve the crisis. I am tired of seeing the sadness, and I am sure that a lot will get better if Argentina can do business again - invest, sell, and spend again. It hasn't only affected Argentines, but all of Latin America and the world.

For all these reasons I created Operation Argentina. We hope that it can help a lot of people, because everything is possible, and only lacks action to take the first step.

BNamericas: Are there incentives? What are they?

Olsson: There are discounts, bonuses etc. The rest is the usual stuff that any firm receives. There is a list in www.redtienda.com.

BNamericas: How do you differentiate your solution from similar offers made by the online auction sites Deremate and Mercadolibre, which are promoting the use of their sites?

Olsson: Completely different. We just made an alliance with Mercadolibre in Venezuela. They do auctions, which are perfect to sell one or more products. Redtienda makes software for building your own virtual store: its design, content, products, and domain.

Most small- and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) have a web site that no one uses. With a virtual store, they can use their site as a leading, or one of the leading, tools for doing business. Selling through their site and generating income with it.

That is what I want, to educate businesspeople. There are opportunities and real cases that use the Internet to do business. [The Internet) is better for ordinary firms that want to open up and use this business channel. And we believe that we can help in many ways.

One last thing about auctions. We made an alliance with ML Venezuela because an auction is perfect for our businesspeople. They already have their store [made with Redtienda], but can offer some products through an auction as a form of marketing.

About the company

Redtienda Corp. is an Ecuador-based e-commerce firm that was founded in April 2000 and launched online in the same year. Its owners are Erik G. Olsson, Bengt Kallberg and Patricio Jonson.