ROSEAU, Dominica, June 6, 2014 – Given the small size of most Caribbean firms, and the very limited capital base, e-commerce provides opportunities for reaching customers in distant markets without the cost of establishment or the use of intermediaries. It is therefore necessary to develop this platform to enable enterprises within the OECS to become more competitive and cost-effective in the global marketplace.
As a key strategy to enhancing the competitiveness of firms, the OECS-EDU has developed a comprehensive programme over the period of the 10th EDF to place e-Commerce as a key cornerstone to facilitating trade and increasing the profitability of firms in the region. The OECS Authority by its January 2012 endorsement of the suite of harmonized pieces of Electronic Legislation has recognised the need to develop appropriate e-Business, e-Commerce, and Technology regulatory regimes and framework.
The OECS-EDU therefore will be conducting e-Business workshops which will incorporate an e-Commerce Diagnostic Assessment of participating firms from around the OECS member states. The process will involve conducting an audit of the firms’ knowledge and use of e-commerce and other e-business tools by using a questionnaire to collect data from the firms. This activity will also involve a basic introduction to e-Business and e-Commerce. The objective of the workshop is to introduce the businesses to available opportunities to utilize e-Business and conduct an e-Commerce assessment of these businesses which will inform an overall OECS e-Business Strategy with a focused approach to e-Commerce.
It will draw upon the data collected from the questionnaire and actual e-Commerce work by firms participating in the exercise. This will allow the OECS to review existing use of e-Commerce, determine the scope for industry-based business-to-business networking and collaborative technological sharing solutions as part of a market–based, market-driven approach to ensure practical, implementable solutions in this area of business development.
The introduction to e-Business and e-Commerce will focus on topics such as:
• Online Branding (domain name);
• Website development and hosting;
• Web 2.0 (Social Media);
• Marketing and advertising – advertising, direct marketing, search engines optimization (SEO);
• E- Transactions including digital signature, terms of service, payment technology, e-payment etc.;
• Service Level Agreements;
• Consumer privacy (data protection);
• Legal framework.
The workshops will be conducted in the following OECS Member States:
June 12th – 13th 2014 - Anguilla
June 16th – 17th 2014 - St. Kitts
June 19th – 20th 2014 - Antigua
June 26th – 27th 2014 - Saint Lucia
June 30th – July 1st 2014 - St. Vincent & the Grenadines
July 3rd – 4th 2014 - Grenada
July 8th – 9th 2014 - Dominica
For further information please contact: Vincent Philbert OECS EDU Tel. 1-767-448-2240 vphilbert@oecs.org/ mmarie@oecs.org Media Contact: Raymond O’Keiffe Email:rokeiffe@oecs.org Tel. 1-758-455-6305 or 455-OECS
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