Social networks generally bring the idea of making friends to people’s minds, but that trend has rapidly evolved. Businesses are beginning to user this for marketing and engaging their customers to help build a better brand image and professionals have taken this up to collaborate with others across borders. There is no end to possibilities on the web and it has made things a lot more efficient, at least in terms of communications.
One such startup is Ziliot, a Business to Business social network that helps connect SMEs, government and professional authorities of countries better connect with each other. The link is primarily between the developing and the developed states to help streamline interaction between organizations in the mentioned countries.
Lets think of it for a moment, if a country in Europe plans to make in investment in an under developed country in Asia or Africa, it would find it easier to get up-to-date information from recognized authorities, primarily the government bodies and professional networks. This is owing to the fact the connectivity may be a major hurdle to collaborate directly on a minuscule level and is often time consuming with results being more or less in accurate. With Ziliot such businesses and organizations can connect with similar ones in different regions to enhance business productivity. It would be better to quote a line from Ziliot itself to highlight why is there a need for another network:
Where other networks can’t get contacts of organizations deep down African,Asian, Middle eastern communities and regions, we provide those contacts and the possibility for SME’s to follow them and interact.SME’s get to connect with relevant government agencies and ask questions. Supposing you want to ask” How do I verify that these company is not fraud” You ask the question direct to the government agency you have followed and they will chat back with you. We believe that this will lead to a process where they check their databases on your behalf and advice you accordingly. You can get to find out about SME’s funding possibilities and supports available, tenders etc
As for the functioning of Ziliot, it works quite like any other social network. To sum it up:
- Government agencies and also other institutions provide business information for free.
- Users will be able to follow and stay updated just as they do on any other social network, like Facebook or Twitter.
So in short its open for anyone to take advantage of, amalgamating the clusters of cluster under one network that is readily accessible. If you talk about Ziliot, it will be best to describe it as a much needed platform for effective interaction.
The team behind Ziliot is a well knit unit of cultures itself with members coming from Africa, Asia and Europe, making it as culturally diverse as its functioning. Its key members are: Aniekan Okono, Tuan Vu, Petri Hirvimaki and Juha Kovanen. The founders met through Founder2be, a Finnish startup aimed at helping aspiring entrepreneurs find each other.
