After a week of discussions on enterprise development and on the impact of electronic commerce on development, an intergovernmental Commission of UNCTAD identified priority areas for strengthened assistance to developing countries and economies in transition in those areas. The Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development completed the substantive work of its Third session on Friday night (27 November), but will reconvene briefly in December to formally adopt its conclusions and recommendations. The Chairperson was Ms Heather Booth di Giovanni (United Kingdom).
In the years to come, the development of electronic commerce will affect fundamentally the functioning of international trade. But the UNCTAD Commission stressed that if the potential benefits of electronic commerce are to be realized in a truly global fashion, present inequalities in access to underlying infrastructures (such as telecommunications) and networks (such as the Internet) need to be addressed. Governments, the international community and the UNCTAD secretariat need to take action to enhance the participation of enterprises of the developing countries and economies in transition in electronic commerce.
Governments should take policy measures likely to encourage investment in local telecommunications infrastructures and to promote Internet connectivity. The international community should strengthen its assistance, e.g. by offering practical learning and information tools to enhance the ability of those countries and their enterprises to effectively use the techniques of electronic commerce.
The UNCTAD secretariat is encouraged to pursue its analytical and research work on the links of electronic commerce and development, with special focus on measures and policies likely to enhance the ability of these countries to participate more fully in global electronic commerce. It should gather, and post on its website, information relevant to development-related dimensions of electronic commerce. Such information could include development-related programmes of international organizations as well as basic statistics on Internet access and connectivity.
Equally important to allow a fair and truly global dissemination of the benefits of e-commerce will be the ability of developing countries and economies in transition also to access relevant information about the technical, legal, economic and policy issues raised by the rapid development of electronic commerce. In this context, the Commission mentioned the positive contribution made by the "Partners for Development" meeting (held in Lyon, France, from 9 to 12 November) towards a common understanding of the development dimension of electronic commerce.
The international community should provide necessary assistance to those countries in capacity building and in setting-up the necessary legal and regulatory framework to benefit from electronic commerce, and facilitate their broader participation in the work towards an international framework for electronic commerce.
Experts are expected to meet in UNCTAD next year to examine the potential impact on developing countries of the legal and regulatory proposals currently discussed in international fora, and to consider possible policies for stimulating the participation of smaller players, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and least developed counries (LDCs), in global electronic commerce.
According to the Commission, UNCTAD could make a significant and positive contribution to the current debate on electronic commerce by pursuing its analytical work, focussing on issues related to trade and development, and in cooperation with other relevant international organizations. Such analytical documentation was important to raise awareness among member States of the potential benefits and obstacles specific to the development dimension of electronic commerce and deepen understanding of policy implications. UNCTAD is also requested to organize regional electronic commerce workshops, to stimulate exchanges of experiences among enterprises having a practical knowledge of electronic commerce.
Recommendations for inter-firm cooperation
In its deliberations on inter-firm cooperation - the other major agenda item at its third session, the Commission noted that international partnering, networking and clustering within localities are some of the best ways to build and sustain the kind of competitiveness that SMEs need to survive and grow in a globalizing economy. It identified national and international action that can be taken to foster SME development and competitiveness.
Recognizing that a major challenge facing SMEs is access to finance, the Commission recommended that Governments should develop local capital markets and mobilize domestic savings to facilitate access of SMEs to finance. UNCTAD, for its part, should examine the feasibility, within the context of the EMPRETEC programme, of ways and means of increasing the access of SMEs to finance including international venture capital.
Governments are invited to promote basic conditions such as a legal framework that includes a system of property rights, contract law, commercial law, bankruptcy laws, and a sound competition climate. UNCTAD is requested to prepare a study on innovative, non-fiscal incentives which can be used to stimulate clustering, promote investment, develop positive linkages within the domestic economy and bring about a greater transfer of skills and technology.
But the Commission considered that while developing countries had the primary responsibility to develop and promote their enterprise sector, appropriate policies and support measures by the international community were of critical importance. These may include the provision of targeted technical assistance, access to information networks, and strengthening support for R&D systems through the enhancement of linkages with enterprises, universities, research institutions. UNCTAD is requested to help developing countries integrate into networks of research institutions on networking, partnering and clustering issues in order for these countries to benefit from their research results.
UNCTAD is requested to compile an inventory with a view to establishing, if necessary, an electronic network of North-South and South-South partnering programmes, relevant associations and organizations engaged in promoting inter-firm cooperation, including useful information on intermediary match-making agencies. It is also requested to undertake case studies to identify best practices in promoting inter-firm cooperation with a view to developing criteria and checklists of conditions, capacities and attitudes which make companies "partnership-ready".
