Certain segments of the service sector are especially amenable to the introduction of ICT, to the establishment of a Web presence, and to transacting business electronically.
For instance, the international travel and tourism industry is increasingly moving online, and developing countries that either currently attract or aspire to attract a sizeable tourism business need to react accordingly. As the World Tourism Organisation writes, “niche players are no longer constrained by the cost of breaking through geographic barriers.
The niche player can now tackle global markets. For just a few hundred dollars of ISP charges and with some careful planning and design, world markets can be captured by organisations which, a few years ago, could not have contemplated looking beyond their own borders. Global distribution is available to the smallest players” (WTO, 2000). As in OECD countries, there is presumably scope for small operators of tourism-related services (tour operators, B&B and mini-hotel businesses, restaurants, etc.) in developing countries to transact directly with overseas customers or at least to advertise their facilities. Tourism associations/boards can provide a useful intermediary function, aggregating lists of various categories of service providers on their websites.
The list of other services that are potentially cyber-deliverable is an open one, limited in a sense only by the imagination. Already, offshore data processing centres in developing countries — and even some low-wage developed countries — provide data transcription and “back-office” functions for insurance companies, airlines, credit card companies, banks and various other service enterprises in OECD countries. Telemarketing firms can afford to hire remotely located sales persons to pitch their products. Customer support call centres of dot.com and other ICT companies in OECD countries are among the fastest-growing segments of the offshore services sector25. India and the Philippines have developed into major locations for offshore data entry and computer programming, while India has also built up a fairly sophisticated software development capability (dependent on highly skilled personnel). Translation services, editing, proof reading and even e-publishing are other candidates for remote service provision, though ones that obviously require more than basic literacy in at least one language. Local ISPs and other entrepreneurs in developing countries may be able to compile information on Web use habits that has a potential market value to international companies. Also, music produced by developing country artists can be digitally recorded and distributed via the Web; already there are websites marketing recordings of African and other artists.
Small-scale entrepreneurs in developing countries can also benefit as users of remotely provided services via the Internet. In the case of their ICT systems, the Internet makes possible remote diagnostics and online technical support as well as delivery of software tools and applications26. In the case of other types of capital equipment, while the Internet may not be the only way to make technical inquiries, request repairs, or order replacement parts or new tooling, it may be the least cost, quickest, and most reliable means to do so, especially if secure payment can be made electronically as well.
Another attraction of the Internet is the possibility of joining a discussion group with other equipment users and entrepreneurs in the same business to share experiences, including on the solution to specific technical problems. While such information sharing may occur informally at the local level, the global community of users may offer additional valuable information; needless to say, this benefit is especially pertinent where an entrepreneur is geographically isolated from his/her peers or where the local user community is thin.
OECD DEVELOPMENT CENTRE Working Paper No. 164 E-COMMERCE FOR DEVELOPMENT: PROSPECTS AND POLICY ISSUES by Andrea Goldstein and David O’Connor
To learn more about this author, visit OECD Development Centre's Website.
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