Tiraspol, 9 March. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. Electronic commerce, or e-commerce, has recently been much talked about in Pridnestrovie. There were several attempts to implement modern technologies in Pridnestrovie, but for various reasons they did not have much success. In Russia, for instance, the share of e-commerce has reached 8%, and in some countries even 30−40%, of the entire trade market.
Pridnestrovie is still far behind such figures — we do not even have the code designating this type of activity, let alone the statistics.
Not as bad as it may seem.
According to the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Yury Ganin, despite a serious IT lag, the republic has a base — and a pretty good one.
«We have certain elements — fairly good broadband Internet covering almost all the republic is a very important element. We have a developed banking system: there are the sufficient number of banks and payment systems, although there is no common state policy. The problem of goods delivery is not so big and can be solved. Software products, the so-called engines, which can be proprietary or free, but this problem can also be solved," he said in an interview with Novosti Pridnestrovya.
That's what we really lack is the unified «architecture» of e-commerce. Attempts to create it are being undertaken by a newly formed specialised committee under the CCI, which includes businessmen, bankers, ministers and IT specialists. They have already drafted a concept which will be soon presented to the government and which is to become the basis for a roadmap for developing this sphere.
Plan of actions
The CCI notes that adopting framework laws is the first step to take. They can be elaborated on the basis of existing international and Russian legislation.
The second element is to create large Internet platforms, common to the whole country, where one could buy all the products made in Pridnestrovie.
«We have online stores, but this is an initial stage: when there's a showcase with goods, but no actual online relations. We are talking about the Internet platforms embracing many domestic manufacturers who are interested in promoting their products via the Internet. We'd like it to become a kind of national trading platform featuring products of major exporters and small manufacturers," says Ganin.
It is important that goods could be bought both within the republic and abroad. Though the latter will be, of course, more difficult to do.
«It is important to which extent this platform will be integrated into international systems attended by millions of visitors. In general, promoting a national Internet platform is expensive, difficult and time-consuming. Besides, such a platform must offer a wide range of goods, and ours is not so wide. Therefore, we need integration into Russian, European and even Moldovan platforms," adds the CCI president.
Totally online
The most important thing is that these platforms (both for domestic and foreign customers) provide direct, without any middlemen, online connection with manufacturers and bankers.
Payments should also be made online. The lack of a unified republican payment system is a serious obstacle to the development of e-commerce. As well as the existing system of goods delivery, though. It cannot provide yet the necessary speed and geography of deliveries.
Another key point is the digital or electronic signature. It is as important for Internet transactions as signing paper documents offline.
«A draft law is currently under consideration; there are debates about what will be the certification authority of electronic signature, who will generate and keep signatures, how they will be secured. It is unlikely to be international and enable us to trade with other countries, but we need it at least for domestic needs. And for international trade, we may use some Russian channel," says Ganin.
Broader perspective
The CCI stresses that implementing IT technologies is not only the distribution of computers to all ministries and state administrations and providing communication among them. It is, first and foremost, the transfer of business and government relations into electronic form, which significantly minimises direct contact with officials and allows many operations — delivering a report, obtaining information, undertaking procurements, etc. — to be made online. In addition to saving time, money and resources, it is also a serious anti-corruption instrument.
«In Russia, for example, all tenders are held via a special electronic registry and trading platforms where offers of all ministries and agencies — federal, regional and local — are collected. As well as information on all bids, tenders and their results. And in Pridnestrovie, every ministry and state administration make their own procurements," says Ganin.
E-commerce is not only trade and services, but also the promotion of a national brand and interesting projects, the attraction of potential investors, the placement of a labour exchange and many other things.
And only through common efforts can this puzzle consisting of many pieces be solved correctly. This is why, Yury Ganin believes, the development of IT technologies must be a priority for the state.
«This is a big step in improving the overall economic efficiency of the entire state. We have a lot of non-productive expenses; we pay for unnecessary work. If we do not adopt modern technologies, our economy will be so expensive that we won't be able to compete with other countries," concluded Yury Ganin.
