The challenges and opportunities of E-commerce in Somalia: A review

Abstract

The information communication technology (ICT) sector is rapidly growing and significantly influences the global economy. Most activities in the financial sector are now performed through ICT. The advent of the Internet has become an indispensable aspect of modern commercial transactions. E-commerce involves conducting business activities through the Internet, fully or partially. This paper explores the opportunities and challenges of e-commerce in Somalia.Review Findings: This review study found three major opportunities of e-commerce in Somalia: human capacity development, policy and legal framework initiatives of the government, and telecommunication infrastructure expansion in the country. Five major challenges that highly hinder e-commerce adoption in Somalia include low customer awareness in e-commerce, lack of skilled workers, fear of risk security and privacy, lack of e-commerce infrastructure, and lack of legal and regulatory framework.