A young woman is selling products on-line. Photo: Xubei Luo/World Bank
China’s rapid development of e-commerce has begun to reshape production and consumption patterns as well as change people’s daily lives. In 2016, the World Bank and the Alibaba Group launched a joint research initiative to examine how China has harnessed digital technologies to aid growth and expand employment opportunities through e-commerce development in rural areas. The research seeks to distill lessons and identify policy options to enhance the positive effect of e-commerce on the reduction of poverty and inequality. Emerging findings from that research show that rural e-commerce evolves from grassroots development to become a potential tool for poverty alleviation with public-private partnerships.
E-commerce has grown quickly in China. Total e-commerce trade volume increased from less than 1,000 billion yuan (US$120.8 billion) in 2004 to nearly 30,000 billion yuan (US$4.44 trillion) in 2017. While e-commerce is more developed in urban areas, online retail sales in rural areas have grown faster than the national average. From 2014 to 2017, online retail sales in rural China increased from RMB 180 billion to 1.24 trillion, a compound annual growth rate of 91%, compared to 35% nationally.
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data can offer untapped opportunities for Thailand. Particularly, it has enormous potential to contribute to Thailand 4.0, a new value-based economic model driven by innovation, technology and creativity that is expected to unlock the country from several economic challenges resulting from past economic development models (agriculture – Thailand 1.0, light industry – Thailand 2.0, and heavy industry – Thailand 3.0), the “middle income trap” and “inequality trap”. One core aspect of Thailand 4.0 puts emphasis on developing new S-curve industries, which includes investing in digital, robotics, and the regional medical hub.
As an early pioneer in the digital economy, Malaysia has many of the building blocks to leapfrog to a new digital future, but the country will need faster Internet to go the next mile. Photo: bigstock/mast3r
About 20 young women in the eRezeki center in Shah Alam, Malaysia work quietly on their computers as the class proceeds. They are there to learn about how to work online to earn an income. On banners nearby are vignettes of Malaysians—many from the bottom 40% of the income group, and the primary target group for this program—who have benefited from these opportunities. One businesswoman selling clothes and furniture online since 2013 saw her monthly sales increase ten-fold after learning how to better market her products online. A retired lecturer learnt about online work opportunities and began performing dispatch services for delivery apps, earning over RM 2,400 (~US$580) a month.
Big Data. Blockchain. Drones. E-Wallets. Artificial Intelligence. These are words that one would expect to hear at the latest conference in Silicon Valley, not during a discussion of Indonesia’s affordable housing challenges. Yet they were buzzing through the captive crowd in Jakarta at the Disruptive Technologies Workshop for Affordable Housing on September 17, 2018. The event, hosted by Indonesia’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing with support from the World Bank’s National Affordable Housing Program (NAHP), was attended by 150 participants from local public agencies, developers, lenders, and community organizations. The workshop’s goal was to explore one big question: How might Indonesia harness the power of disruptive technologies to transform its housing ecosystem?
Big Data. Blockchain. Drone. E-Wallets. Kecerdasan Buatan (Intelegensi Artifisial). Istilah-istilah tersebut biasanya dibahas dalam sebuah konferensi yang paling baru di Silicon Valley, bukan dalam sebuah diskusi mengenai tantangan pada perumahan terjangkau di Indonesia. Namun instilah tersebut berdengung diantara para peserta yang mengikuti acara lokakarya tentang Teknologi Disruptif untuk Perumahan Terjangkau (Disruptive Technologies Workshop for Affordable Housing) di Jakarta pada tanggal 17 September 2018. Acara ini diselenggarakan oleh Kementerian Pekerjaan Umum dan Perumahan Rakyat dengan dukungan dari Bank Dunia melalui program National Affordable Housing Program (NAHP), dihadiri oleh 150 peserta yang terdiri dari Organisasi Perangkat Dearah (OPD), Pengembang, Bank, dan organisasi kemasyarakatan. Lokakarya ini bertujuan untuk membahas suatu pertanyaan besar yaitu: Bagaimana Indonesia dapat memanfaatkan kekuatan disruptive technologies untuk mengubah kondisi & permasalahan perumahannya?
Digital lifestyles, cashless societies, app-based businesses, “smart” nations, virtual services – there is a tremendous amount of excitement in Southeast Asia now about the growth of the digital economy.
The region is a hotspot for digital development, and it already leads the world in some indicators, such as Internet and social media use.
As the digital economy gears up to be the new driver of development in Malaysia, tax policy will need to keep pace with the country’s ambitions towards increased digitalization. Photo: bigstock/szefe
Malaysia wants the digital economy to play a central role in the next chapter of the country’s development—that much is clear. However, what may be less clear is why taxation should be part of the policy mix that will help deliver the country’s digital economy ambitions. This is important because taxes raise the cost of doing business rather than reducing it.
Di seluruh sektor ekonomi digital di Indonesia, baik perusahaan teknologi raksasa maupun yang lebih kecil mengeluhkan sulitnya menemukan bakat digital. Obert Hoseanto dari Microsoft Indonesia menjelaskan: “Sulit sekali mendapatkan karyawan. Kami menerima ratusan lamaran untuk program magang kami tetapi kami hanya dapat menerima 5 orang.”
Para lulusan pendidikan ilmu komputer juga merasa kesulitan untuk memenuhi keinginan atasan mereka. “Saya hanya menggunakan 30% dari ilmu yang saya pelajari di bangku kuliah saat saya bekerja dulu. Sisanya adalah learning by doing,” kata Natali Ardianto, dari tiket.com, sebuah perusahaan start up Teknologi, Informasi dan Komunikasi (TIK) yang berkembang pesat.
Dalam upaya membahas kesenjangan keterampilan ini, Kementerian Koordinator Bidang Perekonomian menyelenggarakan sebuah lokakarya yang juga didukung oleh Bank Dunia untuk memperolah masukan dari sektor swasta, pakar pendidikan, dan praktisi global.
