E-commerce Acceleration Program for the Pacific

E-commerce Business Toolkits

Implemented by PIF, the E-commerce Business Toolkits are a series of plain-language booklets tailored to the e-commerce landscape of specific members to help local businesses to start their online journey. With a simple language and local examples these booklets can help small businesses to choose the best options to go online, get an understating of the costs to do so, market their company, get paid online, and address the logistic challenges related to e-commerce.

E-commerce Disciplines Training for Pacific Negotiators

The project supports negotiators from Forum Island Countries to negotiate and implementation of future digital trade agreements and E-commerce provisions in Free Trade Agreements. The first part of training is devoted to build awareness of e-commerce and e-commerce rule-making on different (national, regional, international, etc.) levels, as well as to the overview of the scope and content of the key disciplines proposed in different negotiating/rule-making fora. The second part of the training is designed to deepen participants’ knowledge of the e-commerce rule making through a closer look at the modalities and dynamics of e-commerce negotiations (with the JSI on E-commerce negotiations at the WTO/RTA negotiations being used as a case study), a more profound exploration of development implications on the e-commerce ecosystem, and practical discussion on implementation of e-commerce rules involving the peers already possessing the relevant experience. The course was delivered online in 2022, with a self-paced version available on the Pacific E-commerce Portal.

Pacific E-commerce Committee

The ambitious development goals proposed by the Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap will be challenging to accomplish without the support of a sound governance mechanism. At the core of this mechanism lies the Pacific E-commerce Committee, which will be established under the auspices of the PIF. It would report to Forum Trade Ministers through the Steering Committee of the Pacific Aid-for-Trade Strategy Working Group. The Pacific E-commerce Committee was established in December 2022 following the endorsement of its TOR by members. Also endorsed are the establishment of the sub-committee for the private sector and development partners.

M&E Framework

The Pacific Regional E-commerce Strategy and Roadmap contains 54 measures to be implemented across the Bule Pacific Region. As the PIFS switched its focus on implementation, it is key to take stock of the progress made on measures’ implementation for member countries, implementing agencies and donor partners to be informed, make decisions, and take action. The monitoring and evaluation system drives the coordination work of the PIFS and provides the Pacific E-commerce Committee with the tool to report to the Forum Ministers on the progress made towards the implementation of the Strategy. The PIFS publish a monitoring and evaluation report each year to the Pacific E-commerce Committee.

Pacific E-commerce Portal

The Pacific E-commerce Portal was launched in August 2022 to serve as a regional repository on e-commerce including: (1) opportunities for technical assistance by our partners – on the portal you can find descriptions of projects and programs going on in the region, as well as contact details of responsible officers – visit the programs section of the portal and if you find a project you like, contact the relevant agency or the PIFS to seek assistance; (2) e-commerce reports and knowledge products; (3) statistics; (4) training material; (5) and news.

E-commerce database

The PIFS, together with SPC and UNCTAD, development the first Pacific E-commerce database. A first version of the database, which includes 37 indicators, is already available on the Pacific E-commerce Portal.

National E-commerce Strategies

The PIFS is providing support for policy formulation. The national e-commerce strategies will serve as a roadmap for how e-commerce can be used to support national development goals in the trade, services and industry sectors. It will identify priority areas with the potential for economic growth, job creation and increased trade, and propose activities to undertake in the short, medium and long term. A governance structure will be established to monitor implementation and impact of the strategy. The PIF has developed a Strategy for Samoa and work is ongoing with Tuvalu and PNG.

National E-commerce Assessments

The PIFS has undertaken 11 eTrade Readiness Assessments in partnership with the UNCTAD. These assessments provide a snapshot of the e-commerce ecosystem in the Pacific Island Countries for each of the seven pillars of the eTrade for all initiative, which are key to embrace their digital transformation: e-commerce assessments, ICT infrastructure, payment solutions, trade facilitation and logistics, legal and regulatory frameworks, skills development, and access to finance. The assessments also address challenges related gender equity and measurement of e-commerce.