JOB/GC/101  
 
22 July 2016  
(16-3930)  Page: 1/2  
  Original: English  
 
 WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND DEVELOPMENT 
Non-paper from Colombia; Costa Rica; Hong Kong, China; Israel; 
Malaysia; Mexico; Nigeria; Qatar and Singapore 
The following non-paper, dated 22 July 2016, is bein g circulated at the request of the delegation 
of Singapore. 
 
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1.1.  E-Commerce can be and has been leveraged to support development. For one, it has made 
interactions between consumers and businesses much easier. E-commerce has opened up new 
opportunities for businesses in developing countries, especially micro, small and medium 
enterprises (MSMEs), by reducing the cost of do ing business, and allowing them to reach a wider 
market. The consumer experience, whether in the areas of media and ente rtainment, air travel 
and tourism, and even taxi rides, has changed over the past few years, thanks to e-commerce. 
Between businesses, the digital interface allows for more efficient operations and supply chains. 
The data generated also allows for optimisation and innovation in their business models. All this 
presents a big well of untapped potential, which could boost economic growth and development in 
developing countries. 
1.2.  E-commerce is the new reality for businesses today, including in developing countries. 
Business to consumer e-commerce is rapidly expanding, particularly in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle-East. For example, in Cambod ia, Sabay.com, an online gaming company 
introduced Sabay Coins (which can be purchased at internet cafes) as a way for its customers to 
spend online. In Indonesia and Vietnam, SMEs such as Gojek and Nhommua.com have uniquely 
leveraged on high prevalence of motorcycles on the roads for a whole array of services, from 
collecting cash on delivery for online transactions to providing courier and motorcycle taxi services 
via a mobile app. In Africa, a slew of loca l players such as JamboPay, Ozimbo, PesaPal, 
Yo!Payments, and Simple Pay have cropped up to facilitate payment via mobile phones. Latin America has seen the rise of its own eBay and Amazon equivalent in MercadoLibre. Flipkart 
and Snapdeal have emerged as major e-commerce platforms in India, while China’s Alibaba has 
developed a plethora of supporting services including online payment platform Alipay 
1.3.  For micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), e-commerce presents an opportunity for 
expansion beyond their own backyards and lowers the high costs usually associated with 
penetrating foreign markets. This has allowed non-traditional players, such as home-makers and 
small handicraft suppliers, to enter the market and offer their products on the global marketplace. 
A report by eBay1 s h o w e d  t h a t  t e c h n o l o g y - e n a b l e d  S M E s  had higher trade activity and overall 
growth compared to traditional SMEs. The report also found that technology-enabled SMEs in developing countries performed just as well compared to similarly sized technology-enabled SMEs in developed economies. 
1.4.  The future potential for e-commerce utilisation in developing countries is tremendous. 
According to UNCTAD
2, the share of global business to consumer e-commerce for Asia and 
                                               
1 Small Online Business Growth Re port: Towards an Inclus ive Global Economy, eBay Public Policy Lab 
2 UNCTAD Information Economy Report 2015 JOB/GC/101 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Oceania, and Middle East and Africa, are expected  to rise from 28% to 37% and 2.2% to 2.5 % 
respectively from 2013 to 2018. In Latin America, online retail sales are expected to grow at a 
compound annual growth rate of 17% between 2014 and 2019.3 
It is useful to kick-start discussions and identify the e-commerce issues of interest and relevance 
to developing countries. Some potential areas for discussion include: 
 
Trade Facilitation and E-commerce 
Cross-border e-commerce often involve low value shipments and/or digital transmissions over the 
internet. Once within the borders, logistics players also play a big part in ensuring smooth 
delivery of products. What can be done to further empower smaller business using e-commerce 
and lower their cost of conducting trade?  
 
Infrastructure Gaps to Enable E-commerce 
Infrastructure gaps in developing countries have posed challenges (e.g. access to broadband) but 
also provided innovative opportunities for businesses (e.g. rise of local payment solutions). Is 
there a way to better target technical assistance towards plugging the critical gaps? 
 
Access to Payment Solutions 
Being able to find payment solutions is key to whether a business will go online. In the absence 
of secure online payment services, payment via mob ile phones and cash on delivery option have 
been used. How can we improve businesses’ and consumers’ access to more payment options to 
better enable them to conduct and access cross-border e-commerce? 
 
Online Security 
Trust is a key factor in determining whether consumers are willing to engage in e-commerce. This 
includes trust in online payment services, the reputation of the online merchant and even in 
whether there is enough legal protection to provide recourse should a transaction go awry. What 
can be done to build trust in online transactions and e-commerce and improve consumer 
protection? Is there scope for improved cooperation between countries on cyber-crime? 
 
 
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3 The Latin America E-commerce Report, Business Insider Intelligence