-SEMINAR REPORT- INDONESIA TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS, & MARITIME WEEK 10-12 OCTOBER 2017

Discussions  initially  focused  on  the  issue  of  infrastructure  as  this  was  identified  a  key enabler in  assisting SMEs  with E-Commerce. E-Commerce requires fast, reliable and  affordable telecommunication/ICT infrastructure  and services.  In this regard, broadband networks are key. In developing countries,  fixed broadband infrastructure is  often limited mainly  because  of the expense and the  need  for  more  investment. Instead,  it  is  wireless  infrastructure, especially  in Africa, that  is more prevalent and that has made  substantial  gains  in  the  last  decade. Mobile broadband is  the fastest  growing market segment  in  developing countries.  However,  broadband remains  unaffordable  to  many  users  in  developing  countries.  The problem  of Least-Connected Countries or  LCCs is a  very real one.   In the  discussion on Business to Consumer (B2C)  E-Commerce, it  was emphasized that this  usually  works  only  if  a  critical  mass  of  people  is  online  and  purchasing  products.  Therefore, the number  of consumers actually  using the internet to make online purchases is  important. Household  internet  uptake  is  increasing  in  Asia,  Africa  and  Latin  America  but  millions  of  households are not yet connected.  90%  of them are located in  developing countries where there is  a growing market  potential. It  was  highlighted  that  backbone  infrastructure  is  also  key as  international internet bandwidth is  a  main  requirement to  cater to increased data traffic.  National ICT/broadband policies at the national  and regional  levels  could  also  stimulate  the  market, increase  services  and  lower  prices. The  laying  of  broadband  cables  in  Africa  over  the  last  five  years has  resulted  in  exceptional  growth  of  SMEs  hooking  up  to  the  internet.  In regard to  infrastructure, a key challenge remains broadband services and increasing investment  in  infrastructure, especially  in  the  telecoms  backbone  and  grid  so  as  to  allow greater use of both  mobile  and fixed lines and data  traffic.  Governments need  to allocate and regulate frequency spectrum to cope with demand and operators need  to  upgrade networks. It  was also deemed  as  necessary  to  adopt  policies  that  further  stimulate  competition  and  private  investment, especially  in  and for rural  and remote areas.  The use of private-public  partnerships was underlines as well  as  using creative  solutions to  achieve the  goal  of universal  access to telecommunication infrastructure. Another challenge lay in  the area  of measuring E-Commerce flows and its contribution to GDP. Governments should  do more to collect accurate data. It was highlighted that few micro and small  enterprises in  low income countries used ecommerce.  This  was mostly  due to the fact that  few micro-enterprises use  computers  or the Internet. This  is  due  to  the  limited  trust  in  on-line  transactions  which  consumers  have  and the  lack of awareness of the possibilities of E-Commerce.  Much of  this,  however, could be corrected through skills building and ensuring greater digital  literacy. E-Commerce presents great opportunities for SMEs in  developing countries.  As  producers they could access new  markets both  domestic  and foreign, overcome  distance, interact with governments  and ensure  a greater participation  in  Business to  Business value chains (B2B). As users, consumers could have access to  goods and services at lower prices, and gain  more access to knowledge and technology. A  key hurdle remains the establishment of electronic  payment systems and distribution networks to actually monitor and track and finally deliver the products  purchased on line.