Fuente: Banco Mundial
Fecha: 16 de diciembre de 2004
Autores: DevNews Media Center

Firms In Developing World Have Greater Internet Access, But Level of E-Business Low

A United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report titled “E-Commerce and Development Report 2004” released on Wednesday said a growing number of companies in poor countries are connected to the Internet but the level of e-business is still low and more must be done to encourage online commerce, the Agence France Presse reports.

The report found that while small- and medium-sized companies had a huge potential to boost productivity by using the Internet as a business tool, they were unable to do so due to fears about security and a lack of money and know-how. In Ghana in 2002, 85 percent of companies surveyed by UNCTAD had Internet access and 35 percent had a web presence but only 16 percent took part in e-commerce, according to the report, which carried out similar studies in other developing countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco and Uganda. "The Internet is often used only by the owner or manager, and mostly for research and e-mail," UNCTAD said.

The percentage of companies surveyed that make purchases online ranged from 59 percent of those with Internet access in Costa Rica to 16 percent in Mexico. As for firms that sell over the Internet, the percentage was even smaller, ranging from 30 percent of companies in Costa Rica to just two percent in Colombia. Asked why the firms failed to use the Internet as a tool to increase business, 71 percent cited network security, 41 percent blamed development costs and 37 percent and said it was a "waste of time.” Other barriers included a lack of demand among clients, slow and unstable Internet connections and the absence of an e-business strategy. 

UNCTAD called on governments in developing countries to help the private sector overcome such obstacles by generating more trust in the Internet. "Promoting the use of information communications technologies (ICTs) by small- and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries should also be a major priority of national e-strategies," the development agency said. Kofi Annan, the UN’s secretary General, added that "Information and communications technologies have considerable potential to promote development and economic growth. But if all countries are to benefit, and if ICTs are to make a real impact on a country's economic prospects, more needs to be done to build capacities and create an enabling environment, nationally and internationally.” The Financial Times further notes that over a third of the world's 685 million internet users live in developing countries, up from a quarter in 2000.