The IOTA Foundation says its TWIN (Trade Worldwide Information Network) initiative is making progress in modernizing cross-border trade through blockchain-based digital infrastructure, with pilot projects now spanning Africa, Europe and discussions underway in Asia. In an interview with TechFlow, Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen, Head of Global Trade and Supply Chain at the IOTA Foundation, outlined how the project aims to replace fragmented, paper-based trade processes with a shared digital network that enables governments, businesses and logistics providers to exchange trusted information in real time.
According to Lund-Nielsen, the vision behind TWIN is not to replace existing trade systems but to connect them through an open and decentralized infrastructure built on the IOTA protocol. He argued that previous efforts to digitize global trade often struggled because they were controlled by individual companies or organizations, limiting broader adoption among stakeholders that were reluctant to rely on infrastructure owned by another party.
The initiative builds on years of work by governments and international organizations seeking to digitize global trade. While electronic documentation and standardized data models have become increasingly common, interoperability between customs agencies, ports, financial institutions and logistics providers remains one of the industry’s biggest challenges. TWIN seeks to serve as a neutral coordination layer that allows participants to share verified data while maintaining control over their own systems and information.
Pilot Projects Demonstrate Early Real-World Applications
Lund-Nielsen highlighted several ongoing pilot projects that demonstrate how the infrastructure is being tested in real trade environments. In East Africa, the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline (TLIP) connects exporters, logistics companies and government agencies through a shared digital platform covering exports such as flowers, tea and coffee.
According to the Foundation, the project has processed more than 184,000 invoices and has significantly reduced document retrieval times while lowering administrative workloads and documentation costs for exporters. These figures were provided by the IOTA Foundation and relate to specific pilot programs rather than the broader international trade system.
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Beyond Africa, TWIN has also been tested through the United Kingdom’s Ecosystem of Trust programme, where digital trade data was used to improve visibility over refrigerated poultry shipments entering the country. Additional work is taking place through the UK’s Digital Trade Testbed, while projects involving critical mineral supply chains, maritime logistics and agricultural exports continue to explore how trusted digital records can improve efficiency and transparency.
The Foundation also confirmed that discussions are underway with governments and businesses in Asia regarding future pilot deployments, although no specific countries or launch timelines have been announced.
Digital Infrastructure Could Help Narrow the Trade Finance Gap
One of the broader goals of TWIN is addressing the estimated $2.5 trillion global trade finance gap, a longstanding challenge that limits access to financing for businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises. Lund-Nielsen argued that trusted, verifiable digital trade records could improve lenders’ confidence by providing standardized and auditable information throughout the supply chain.
The Foundation believes decentralized infrastructure can also strengthen interoperability by supporting internationally recognized standards such as those developed by the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), the World Customs Organization and decentralized identity frameworks defined by the World Wide Web Consortium.
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Despite the progress reported by the Foundation, widespread adoption remains dependent on factors beyond technology alone. Legal recognition of electronic trade documents varies by jurisdiction, governments must align regulatory frameworks, and businesses across multiple industries need to adopt common standards before digital trade networks can achieve global scale.
Rather than positioning blockchain as a replacement for existing financial or logistics systems, TWIN reflects a growing trend of using distributed ledger technology as shared infrastructure for cross-border commerce. If the initiative continues to expand beyond pilot projects, it could offer a blueprint for how blockchain technology can support real-world trade operations while addressing longstanding inefficiencies in global supply chains.
