Studies show that Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that use online platforms are around five times more likely to export than those in the traditional economy. Empirical research also finds that 75% of Internet impact in terms of economic value arises from companies operating in traditional industries (i.e. not those that exist only because of the Internet such as transport and agriculture).To ride the wave of e-commerce potential it is becoming increasingly important that populations have meaningful access to and use of digital technologies.
Convening experts from business and government at UNCTAD’s e-commerce week 2018, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will host a side event “Expanding e-commerce capacity for a sustainable 2030”.
Participants at this session will be encouraged to consider current trends including: MSMEs that have deployed ICT get to productivity much faster and a component of digital services is present in the productivity of all hard goods, yet there is clear evidence of a lack of ICT dissemination among MSMEs in developing countries.
To address these challenges and foster an enabling environment for e-commerce, ICC believes that governments need to understand how the ICT ecosystem works in practice and drive well-informed and future-orientated policy approaches that encourage ICT access, investment and innovation. ICC hopes this discussion will address the challenges developing countries often face to expand e-commerce capacity, encourage greater awareness of evolving trends, and offer global business insights on how opportunities can be reaped for a sustainable 2030.
Moderator:
Ms Elizabeth Thomas-Raynaud, International Chamber of Commerce, Project Director, ICC Business Action to Support the Information Society (BASIS) Senior Policy Executive, Digital Economy Commission
Speakers:
Mr Jorge Arbache, Secretary of International Affairs, Ministry of Planning, Brazil
Ms Sahra English, Vice President Global Public Policy, Mastercard
Mr Francois Martins, Manager of Government Relations and Public Policy, Mercado Libre
Ms Katrina Kosa-Ammari, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Latvia to the United Nations Geneva
Mr Tilmann Kupfer, Vice President, Trade & International Affairs, BT Group plc
Mr Vasco Crivelli Visconti, Executive Director, B2W
