Information Society Watch

2003, Mayuri Odedra-Straub, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries

The author of this short article provides a critical commentary on the UNCTAD report titled 'E-Commerce and Development Report 2002', citing it as having a misleading title and as lacking in focus on the majority of developing countries, or on development as such. The author critiques the kind of ‘opportunities for growth’ being considered by the report, and notes that such opportunities are rarely accomplished even in developed countries, let alone in developing ones. Thus, the author is not hopeful that developing countries will be able to ‘leap-frog’ into e-commerce while they are still struggling with the basics of ICT infrastructure. The UNCTAD report fails to address crucial societal factors, and therefore ignores major barriers to the implementation of e-commerce. The author concludes that to facilitate e-commerce, strong investments in social infrastructure are necessary.

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