E-commerce in Developing Countries

The aim of the following paper is to present a review of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, E-Commerce and Development Report 2002, which focuses on progress towards e-commerce in developing countries. The Report presents valuable information and analysis within its nine chapters that will be of interest to many countries. However, it is argued that the Report would have been more useful if UNCTAD had considered how the chapters related to each other, and in particular, how the topics mapped against the entire scope of what is a complex issue. For illustrative purposes, a preliminary framework was developed from the literature and then used for comparison against the issues covered in the Report, revealing gaps. It is recommended that UNCTAD build on the leadership role it has taken in the area by developing a framework of the issues on e-commerce in developing countries that could be used for future publications in the area.