Seminar on Government Facilitation of ECommerce for Development

1
Seminar on Government Facilitation of E-Commerce
for Development
Geneva, 14 June 2001
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• Government coordination

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Task Force on E-Commerce
Venezuelan Mission Oscar Hernández / Luisa
Rodríguez
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Task Force for the Facilitationof E-commerce for
Development

• 1.- A challenge for public policy
• Obstacles for the use of information and
  communication technology in Developing Countries
• Objectives of the internal coordination
• 2.- The Venezuelan Experience
• Strategic Framework
• Legislation and Development Plans
• Actions
• 3.- Future projects and their expected
• results.

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Obstacles to the use of information and
communication technologiesin Developing Countries

• High costs of hardware
• Low Penetration of infrastructure of
  telecommunications
• Cost of access to internet
• Reduced number of persons with credit card

Access

• Governments with little knowledge about
  e.commerce
• Lack of knowledge about the commercial
  possibilities of internet
• Entrepreneurs prefer their traditional way of
  doing bussiness

Know How

• Little security and confidenciality in the
  transactions
• Phone and fax are considered safer
• Little certainty about applicable jurisdiction

Confidence
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Situation of internet accessin Venezuela

• Source Cavecom-E (1999)

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A challenge for public policyObjectives of the
internal coordination

• Open and competitive telecommunications sector
• Create a framework of rules that stimulate the
  access to infrastructure
• Educate the society in order to give it the
  capacity to take advantages of the opportunities
  that e.commerce offers
• Transparency in the legal regimes
• Appropriate systems of security to generate
  confidence

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The Venezuelan ExperienceStrategic Framework

• Develop a national infrastructure for Information
  Technologies (I.T.) that will allow to
  strenghthening of the human capacities and
  improve the quality of life

• Bring up human resources on the effective use of
  the I.T., through training activities which will
  allow the transmission of a creative attitude
  towards I.T.

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The Venezuelan ExperienceStrategic Framework

• Contribute with the modernization of the
  Venezuelan state. The use of the I.T. will
• Facilitate the communication within the Public
  Sector, with other Governments and with the
  citizen
• Improve the quality of the public services
  provided to citizens, institutions and
  organizations.

• Promote the I.T. in the productive sectors
  (public and private), in order to promote the
  quality and innovation, in the context of digital
  world economy

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The Venezuelan ExperienceLegislation and
Development Plans

• Presidential Decree for e-Government (Nº 825,
  10-05-01)
• Telecommunications Law
• Data Messages and Electronic Signatures Law
• Science, technology and Innovation Law
• Data Security Law(Project)

• Information Technologies National Plan
• Telecommunications National Plan

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The Venezuelan ExperienceActions

• INFOCENTROS
• Thematic servers in health, production,
  education, science and environment
• http//www.venezuelasaludable.gov.ve/
• http//www.venezuelaproductiva.gov.ve/principal.ht
  ml
• http//www.rena.e12.ve/.
• Project to provide I.T. to the small and medium
  enterprises
• Incubator for the .com enterprises
• Intranet/extranet of the Ministry of Science and
  Technology as a role model for the public
  administration

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The Venezuelan ExperienceHighlighting some of
the actions
INFOCENTROS
Products

• ? February 2001
• Opening of 5 in the metropolitan area an 3 in the
  interior. 21.050 users per month
• Operation costs covered by the Government
• Strategic alliances with public and private actors

• ? Definition
• Adequate communitary spaces, provided with I.T.
  Services. They have progressively been increased
  in number and in services provided.

• ? Objectives
• Increase access to the internet.
• Promote the access to the information to
  stimulate investigation and innovation

• ? June 2001
• 240 in the whole country with a capacity of
  7.200.000 per month
• Communities centers and training centers

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The Venezuelan ExperienceHighlighting some of
the actions

• Minnovación automatic process for the evaluation
  of projects
• The user finds information and application forms
  to ask for financing in the area of the projects
  of the Science and Technology Ministry
• Education
• Health
• Modernization of enterprises
• Industrial grants
• Allows innovators, institutions, investigation
  centers, enterprises, NGO to present proposals
  and requests for a reduction of the time of
  response.
• The requests are sent by internet to external
  evaluators who give an opinion online about them,
  without knowing the identity of the petitioner

http//www.minnovacion.gov.ve/
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Situation of internet access in Venezuela

• Number of
• internet users

154
300
Source 1200 home interviews. DATANALISIS 2000
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Future projects and their expected results (dec.
2002)

• Increase from 4 to 25 the internet users
• Give specialized medical assistance at low cost
  and from a distance

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Future projects and their expected results (dec.
2002)

• Stimulate the development of companies with
  techonological base and form more entrepreneurs
  on ICT in order to generate new opportunities of
  bussiness and sources of work

• More effective, efficient and transparent
  management
• Online procedures for Government Procurement
• Online execution of the State budget

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Situation of internet accessin Latin America
Million of users
Source Jupiter Communications
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Situation of internet accessin Latin America
Million of US
Source Jupiter Communications
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Agents who relate to each other by electronic
means

• The relations with commercial expression
• Are B 2 C, C 2 B, and B 2 B