"Kultepe is where the Anatolian enlightenment began. The people in this area were literate much earlier than other places in Anatolia, including its west," he said.
I would say the trade, the literacy and the enlightenment are all related.
A trader of necessity must be literate to function. He must be able to keep books and read contracts. He also probably speaks several languages.
If he is a truly successful trader he has probably had many interactions with high government officials and or royalty. He likely thinks of himself as a peer to these government official on an intellectual level.
Once you have lost your awe of these bureaucrats and see them as people you begin to think why are they lord over me when they are not any better than me or in many cases not at my level of intelligence
Once these ideas begin to float around in your mind you may begin to voice these ideas over dinner with friends. Those friends may begin to think about them and so begins a revolution.
A clerk/scribe back then was highly prized and well paid, especially a multilingual one, as you noted. Have you read the late Louis L’Amour’s “The Walking Drum” by any chance?