Development dynamics and future prospects of electronic commerce for developing countries: a case study of Tanzania

Electronic commerce (E-commerce) is relatively new, and so far little is known about its benefits A number of studies have been conducted in other countries and results have shown that e-commerce can support enterprises to improve their performance in today's competitive business environment. In this study, a survey carried in 47 organisations was used to evaluate how firms in Tanzania can benefit from this new phenomenon. The results indicate that many organisations do believe that through the use of Internet for commercial activities, they will be able to access information globally. Information is power as it can be used to introduce new markets, new products, improve customer care, compete against others, improve productivity and in the end to cut down costs of operations thereby increasing shareholders value.Deriving from the findings of the study, some of the key recommendations in order to support the diffusion of e-commerce in Tanzania are concerted efforts to create awareness within the business sector, with regard to the benefits of E-commerce.