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Executive SummaryMuch of the hype of the new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been focused on its potential to wipe out geographical barriers and potentially created new markets for existing business and firms. In the late 1990s, the use of ICTs to foster commerce, e-commerce, was thus initially seen as one of the key drivers of the so-called ICT revolution. Five years into the new Millennium a more sober picture has emerged. E-commerce is certainly not a panacea although it has worked for quite a few companies.An issue that has perhaps been not properly addressed in these discussions have been the role that ICTs can play in supporting Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in developing countries. Most poor countries have very few large enterprises that could benefit from using ICT to reach national and international markets. As a matter of fact, most of the enterprises of these economies are SMMEs. This is particularly so when the focus is placed in urban poor and rural areas. Thus, targeting SMMEs in developing countries is one the ways in which ICT can help alleviate poverty and help them achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) agreed by all countries in 2000.
E-commerce for development: focusing on SMMEsOver the past decade, the Internet has profoundly transformed the way business is conducted. The high profile failures of the .dot-com. bubble notwithstanding, many corporations, particularly in the US, have enjoyed success with e-commerce. Most experts on ICTs for development have long heralded the opportunities for .leveling the playing field. for SMMEs), especially in developing countries. The field of crafts held special interest because it provides significant employment in poor countries, principally for women in rural communities.In truth, the number of success stories to date for artisan SMMEs adopting the same e-commerce techniques developed for the industrialized countries has been disappointing. The experience has been that conditions in most developing nations present significant obstacles that require a .pro-poor approach. Download full summary from here (PDF).
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