New Swedish language solution for online marketplaces

A Swede with the business Commercus.com in the end of June 2015 announced the launch of a 39-language online marketplace, addressing 5.5 billion people. This comes “after 25 years of wrestling the language barriers of international trade.”

Using machine translation, Commercus.com lets businesses and consumers post advertisements in up to 39 languages, reaching buyers and sellers in more than 100 of the world’s most populated markets.

Commercus.com does it differently. Existing online advertisement portals are country based or based on a single language. By using those you will only reach customers that understand that language. Commercus have 39 built in languages where the visitors select the language where he/she feels most comfortable irrespective of the country where he/she lives. The visitor posts an advertisement in this language and selects translation to any number of languages possible. Then the advertisement will be automatically published into selected languages.
Commercus have 39 built in languages where the visitors select the language where he/she feels most comfortable irrespective of the country where he/she lives. The visitor posts an advertisement in this language and selects translation to any number of languages possible. Then the advertisement will be automatically published into selected languages.

“Transportation is cheap, it is easy to transfer money, and the world is full of people who love to do business. But even though globalisation has come far, the language barrier remains an obstacle,” says founder Andreas Isaksson.
The former Volvo Trucks sales person got the idea after making a trip to Iran.

“I went there on a business trip in 1990, and ended up staying for three years. I travelled the country, and almost nobody in the business community understood a word of what I wanted to say,” says Isaksson.

In his dealings with the world of business, a pattern emerged. Isaksson was sent to sell trucks in Russia, Hungary and Turkey, only to find himself using interpreters to communicate with clients. Having left Volvo, he partnered with a Japanese machine tool manufacturer, whereby the procedure was duly repeated. Gradually it occurred to him that English wasn’t the global language it is so widely believed to be.

“Doing business is all about presenting an offer, but doing that is difficult if you can’t communicate properly. During my career I have been dependent on interpreters, and it is like working in complete darkness,” says Isaksson.

Now his experiences have spawned the idea of a global marketplace for goods and services. Whereas existing alternatives are often country specific, based on a single language, Commercus.com applies machine translation to maximise the potential impact of each advertisement. Users post ads in their native tongue, choosing between 400+ categories, after which the advertisements are automatically translated into any language of choice at a rate of €3 per language.

“Until now, there has been no way to advertise your products and services on a truly global level,” says Isaksson.

To welcome new users, the first 150,000 advertisements including translations are completely free.

Ever tried to sell a product or service to somebody that speaks another language? Most people understand another language than you do. Commercus eliminates this problem so you can reach 5.5 billion people with your advertisement, representing 80 percent of the world's population. Globalization has come far but the language barriers have been an obstacle up to now. Commercus can replace almost all existing online advertisement portals then it is also possible to advertise in your own language for domestic purposes.
Ever tried to sell a product or service to somebody that speaks another language? Most people understand another language than you do. Commercus eliminates this problem so you can reach 5.5 billion people with your advertisement, representing 80 percent of the world’s population. Globalization has come far but the language barriers have been an obstacle up to now. Commercus can replace almost all existing online advertisement portals then it is also possible to advertise in your own language for domestic purposes.

About Joakim Persson

Freelance business and lifestyle photojournalist

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