E-commerce can enhance market access for small, medium enterprises

Verdelle Jeffrey, Manager of Business Services, Business Development Company of TT (BDC), believes that technological advances can increase access to regional and global markets Technological advancement mitigates the negative effect of economic adjustment  by  reducing timelines and increasing access to markets, she said.

Speaking at the E-commerce symposium last week, she said Caribbean businesses and exporters now have to adjust to globalisation and liberalisation. “They need to upgrade or perish.”
She notes that there are also hindrances which exacerbate the challenges of SMEs, like small size, weak management systems and obsolete production technologies. Like Questel, she felt that government needs to provide more support for SMEs and advocated  the provision of financing, technology, innovations and the requisite components which facilitate e-commerce. She emphasised how essential SMEs are to the economy, generating over 50 percent of private sector employment. The SME sector, she said, empowers large segments of the population using local materials, taking advantage of niche markets and benefiting marginilised groups. They must, however, be willing to change including exploring new markets, she said. She disclosed that there have been initiatives in TT to increase co-ordination among SMEs and to imcrease the use of cutting edge managerial techniques. The BDC, for example, has been mandated to explore the feasibility of an export services facility. Other BDC initiatives will allow enterprises to benefit from loans and grant funding for upgrading in quality, planning, procurement, marketing and promotional activities. Melvin Edwards, Project Manager, CIDA-funded Caribbean Regional HRD Program for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), advised that TT needs a reality check.

He said that the country  needed to recognise that there are some hard and fast structural problems which need to be addressed as we move to being a wealth creating state from a poor underdeveloped state. There are inconsistencies which need to be addressed, he said, for example the differences in regional definitions as to what constitutes small or medium economies. The question of investing in proper human resource as well as access to credit and capital are universal problems for SMEs, he said. He added that whereas others were optimistically predicting imminent e-governments he held a more conservative forecast. “I still can’t see government being paperless in the next five years.” he said. He questioned the impact of the CSME given international influences and pressures, asserting that “the global regulators are the de facto regulators.” Edwards identified some targets for government, too. He advocated legislation and implementation of new policies as well as streamlining of government agencies to make them standards driven.

Access to services should be increased, he said, and ministries should become more e-oriented which would generate cost-cutting. Additionally, infrastructure should be improved and consumer and public awareness should be increased, including bringing academic institutions up to speed in adoption of technology. He warned that the future held not only opportunity but also threat for SMEs. They would soon be measured against the best in the world as we go global. Investment in quality people and advice would be crucial. Safety would be a major watchword because crime and harassment are factors which seriously undermine tourism. Good capital, he said, includes a sound environment and financial skills need to be honed. Also, it is fundamental to growth and development that lines of financing be made available. He promoted goal-setting, follow-through and rewards for the pro-active as well as increased training which benefits the sector and country as a whole.  He advised, too, that the savings base of the country needs to be developed. In business, he says, there is only the quick and the dead. Kurt Lange, Representative of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) stated that the corporate landscape is changing with fewer large players and a growing number of small players. ‘We need infrastructure, human capacity, policy, financial capital and tax incentives to be points of focus included on the nation’s agenda, “ he said.

The percentage of the country with access to telephones and the internet should be identified, he said, and telecommunications issues like bandwith and piracy need to be investigated.
He said that whereas there is a great deal of communication done through the internet in TT there is actually very little e-shopping taking place. This is possibly because of the nearness of the stores to their customers. “If the CSME is to be effective it would require that the ICT level in the region reaches a certain standard.” he said. He advised that initiatives should be designed to endure beyond one-term of government.They should be sensitive to local conditions, shaped by regional co-operation and a result of the aligned interests of the key stakeholders. Like Edwards, Lange believed that safety and security should be developed. He added that incentives need to be provided for the business community to promote e-commerce and ICT.

Gultekin Ozaltinordu, Administrator of the E-Trade Bridge Programme, identified chinks in the ICT and e-commerce armour of the region. He noted that there is a low level of communication among stakeholders and a low level of concordance among strategies. Management skills are also minimal, he said, and there is an apparent lack of knowledge on the optimal use of the existing infrastructure. Although there has been specific training in specific areas, he said, a comprehensive approach is needed.