Feasibility study for ecommerce and ICT diffusion- adoption in EAC

Abstract

Ecommerce technology can reduce poverty by improving people's access to educations, healthy, government and financial services. Ecommerce also can help small farmers and artisans by connecting them to markets. It is clear that in rural and urban East African countries (EAC) as well as in much of the developing world-realization of this potential is not guaranteed. We study a simple bilateral model in which ICTs, are initially endowed with ability, decide sequentially (1) whether can act as producers of (eCommerce's) or as investors (rentiers) and, then (2) which quantity of investment they would like to bring, through educations and Information Technology revolutions to poor rural area people in (EAC) so that these two (education and IT) can be well adopted and defused by integrating them to commercial life. We show the existence of "natural equilibria", at which ICT become source and capital for eCommerce's while the remaining ones decide to be rentiers. We outlines a simple model to explain why a digital divide may exist between rich and poor, realizing the impact of eCommerce that can be executed over the internet has a potential towards economy growth. Low-cost access to information infrastructure is necessary prerequisite for the successful use of eCommerce by the poor, but it is not sufficient. The implementation of eCommerce projects needs to be performed by organizations and individuals who have the appropriate incentives to work with marginalized groups. Furthermore, the readinesses of EAC involvement as a community are identified as the key factors that foster local people to be connected to digital world.