E-commerce for developing countries: expectations and reality

Development agencies have emphasised the potential of business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce to reduce barriers to entry to global markets for small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries. E-marketplaces would allow firms to buy and sell online, reaching customers across the world at low cost. A study of B2B e-marketplaces and the use of the internet by developing country firms shows a different picture. There is little evidence that firms are using the internet to find new customers and suppliers or to buy and sell goods online. And there is little prospect that it will. Nevertheless, the internet is being used by firms for supply chain coordination. It facilitates existing relationships rather than creating new ones.