DEVELOPMENT: WORKSHOP — 8-9 APRIL 2013
Workshop on E-Commerce, Development and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
A workshop will be held at the WTO on Monday 8 and Tuesday, 9 April 2013 to highlight the relationship between e-commerce and development and to examine how SMEs in developing countries have been using e-commerce to promote, market, service and sell their products nationally and abroad. The workshop will focus on both the opportunities and the challenges facing developing countries and will assess how such issues concerning adequate levels of telecoms infrastructure, regulation and investment either help or hinder SMEs from finding new opportunities through e-commerce.
The two-day workshop will feature presentations by representatives from the public and private sector. Experts from non-governmental organizations and academia are also being invited as speakers. A key focus of the workshop will be on how companies and governments operate in the area of e-commerce and Information Communications Technology in general and what is being done to help small rural communities and businesses improve their productive, commercial and business performance.
Monday, 8 April 2013 |
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10:00 — 10:30 | Opening Session: Chaired by H.E. Dr Marion Williams, Ambassador of Barbados, and Chair of the Committee on Trade and Development Welcome address by Mr Harsha V. Singh, Deputy Director-General, WTO, and thematic statement by Ms Patricia Francis, Executive Director, International Trade Centre |
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Audio: Opening Session > help |
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10:30 — 13:00 |
A) International Organizations Session: Chaired by H.E. Mr Shanker Das Bairagi, Ambassador of Nepal and LDC Group Coordinator Speakers: Dr Susan Teltscher — ITU: “Enabling E-commerce: recent trends in broadband deployment and uptake”; Mr Torbjörn Fredriksson — UNCTAD: “E-commerce and development — key trends and issues”; Mr Martin Labbé — International Trade Centre: “E-Commerce business models and deployment strategies in developing countries”; Mr Sacha Wunsch-Vincent — WIPO: “Evolution and economics of digital content markets, IP issues, SMEs and online transactions”. Audio: International Organizations Session
Topics to be discussed: Facilitation of access to E-commerce by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Developing Countries: e.g., development of institutional, regulatory and national/regional capacities; access to information; raising awareness; recent research. Questions and Answers/Discussion |
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15:00 — 18:00 | B) Academic, Civil Society Session: Chaired by Mr Detlev Brauns, Deputy Permanent Representative, European Union Speakers: Mr Dawit Bekele, Internet Society, Regional Bureau Director for Africa, Addis Adaba, Ethiopia: “Opportunities and Challenges of E‑commerce for African SMEs”; Mr Daniel Salcedo, founder of Peoplink.org, Kensington, Maryland, USA: “Recent Technical Advances Facilitating E‑commerce for SMEs”; MrMarcos Pueryrredon, President, eInstituto, Buenos Aires, Argentina: “The new ecosystem of online businesses: eCommerce+ and the opportunities for SMEs”; Dr Richard Duncombe, Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) in the School for Environment and Development, University of Manchester: “Mobile phones Innovation and Micro-enterprise in Low-income Countries”. Topics to be discussed: Use/exploitation of E-commerce and ICTs in general by SMEs in developing countries to improve their productive and commercial performance: e.g., generation and/or improvement of capacities and access to technologies; recent research and trends. Questions and Answers/Discussion |
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Tuesday, 9 April 2013 |
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10:00 — 13:00 | C) Private Sector Session: Chaired by Mr. David Shark, Deputy Chief of Mission, Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO, United States Speakers: Ms Sadequa Hassan Sejuti, Managing Director and Mr Ataur Rahman, Future Solution for Business, Dhaka, Bangladesh: “Minimizing the digital gap of rural and city life through E‑Commerce”; Ms Nancy Tingze Wang, Co-Founder and CEO M-Kazi, Nairobi, Kenya: “Semi-skilled Labour Force Mobilization Using Accessible Technology”; Mr Daniel Annerose, CEO Manobi, Dakar, Senegal. Questions and Answers/Discussion |
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15:00 — 17:00 | D) Public Sector Session: Chaired by Mr Francisco Rivadeneira, Vice‑Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador Statement: Mr Wilfredo González Vidal, Vice Ministro del Ministerio de Informática y las Telecomunicaciones (MIC), Havana, Cuba. Speakers: Mr Egidius Mbarara, Auditor for Corporate, Transport, Energy and ICT Sectors (RURA), Kigali, Rwanda: “The Role of ICT Regulation in Promoting Small and Medium — Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Developing Countries”; Ms Maria Lourdes Yaptinchay, Director of Policy Research, E‑Commerce Office. Department of Trade and Industry, Makati City, Philippines: “Government support to helping SMEs gain access to e-commerce”; Mr Paul Donohoe, Programme Manager, Electronic Postal Services and E-Commerce, Universal Postal Union. “The Postal network — facilitating universal access to e-commerce”.
Questions and Answers/Discussion |
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17:00 — 18:00 |
Concluding Session: Chaired by H.E. Dr Marion Williams, Ambassador of Barbados, and Chair of the Committee on Trade and Development Presentation of Session Reports by the Moderators. General Discussion and Follow-Up |
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Participation is open to representatives of WTO Members, international organizations, public and private entities and individual experts.