Is Samoa Expensive
Samoa is expensive?"Like most small islands and especially the Pacific," the evaluation says, "the restrictions on trading logistic are still a central shortage for Samoa. "Aviation is the most expensive way to send goods, but since most goods Samoans buy and buy on-line are small packages, Faleolo International Airport is currently the most important point of arrival and departure.
The evaluation states that better ports and extended transport would make electronic trade cheaper, and the absence of a mailing address system also restricts the volume of electronic trade in Samoa. However, web access is still untrustworthy and expensive and keeps more than two-thirds of the world' s people off-line. It is hoped that the coming of a 1,000-kilometer long overhead line linking Samoa to the Southern Cross Cables in Fiji will increase accessibility and affordable prices.
However, the evaluation has shown that an enhanced infrastrucure alone cannot guarantee the e-commerce capability of the state. Although the public is better networked, e-commerce cannot start if the vast majority of the public has no banking accounts or cards and is sceptical about paying by means of mobility. "The Samoans are largely left without banking," the reports say, and only about half of the grown-up populace has a banking accounts or direct contact with other official institutions such as cooperative banks and micro-finance.
Thankfully, only 3. 7% of cell phones holders have a portable financial accounts -- prevent on-line transactions like Samoamarket and Makeki from increasing revenues despite the increase in traffic to their web sites. Samoans are hesitant to rely on paying on-line, the document says, is an imperfect and sometimes obsolete regulatory overhaul.
According to the assessment, the most important issue is customer safety on the web, especially with regard to personal information security and private sphere, for which there is no law in Samoa. However, even if more Samoans are linked to the web and rely on paying on-line, if they are unaware of the possibilities of e-commerce and do not have the necessary technology capabilities, selling on-line will be further delayed.
"Uncertainty and ignorance about what e-commerce is and how to profit from it has been a central theme throughout the study period," the paper says, and adds that support could be focused on small and medium-sized enterprises in female ownership, as existing e-commerce institutions are more easily available to incumbent males.
Mere Falemaka, Permanent Representative of the Pacific Islands Forum to the World Trade Organization, says that the capacity to make trading more integrated and to provide opportunity for young people - two populations that are often missed out - makes e-commerce a crucial factor. By assessing this, the federal authorities have recognised that e-commerce is more than ICT infrastructures, traffic and regulations, and that it calls for investments in software infrastructures and capabilities as well as a thorough, comprehensive domestic e-commerce policy.
Samoa's administration is pledged to take full benefit of e-commerce, the document says. With the right visions and combined effort to overcome ongoing shortages, Samoa could become an e-commerce Hub for the area. This expert group provides a precious framework for efficient follow-up, requiring early funding and technological support for Samoa from the group' s developing parters.