OPPORTUNITIES IN ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN KENYA
The advent and adoption of new technologies in trade and commerce has changed the definition of a market as new it has become relatively easier to create new spaces for transaction of businesses online and offline.
In today’s fast paced innovation and technology-dependent world, electronic commerce (E-Commerce) represents fast growing opportunity for businesses globally. E-commerce, refers to the use of the Internet or the Web to transact where most or all the operations of a business are facilitated through the Internet. This has dramatically increased in the last few years. Some examples of companies engaged in e-commerce include: www.amazon.com, Priceline.com inc, nsoko.com, sokopal.com among others (Rigelsford, 2000).
It represents a new type of business economic patterns at the global level, in the information age, and advanced modern technology in this era where borders disappear in commerce geography, and has also changed the concept of the determinants of capital (Turban & Others, 2004) .
E-Commerce has become the prime driver of contemporary E-commerce. With the increasing imperative for the economic units that seek to strengthen its competitive position to adapt the electronic environment, by changing its accounting system radically or gradually and focusing on the so-called electronic accounting. After the emergence of new technologies in the business world as an extension of the electronic environment and development E-Commerce has become one of the most important challenges in front of the new accounting and auditing (Zwass, 1996).
The modern revolution in Information Technology has become the backbone of E-Commerce. With the development of E-Business activities it becomes the perfect computer and communications network to run, based on its strong dependence on computer systems, holds a huge threat to the control ineffective. Inappropriate use may result in disastrous consequences, and the existence of computer viruses and “hackers” wanton attack, computer crime, and so have led to the risk of E-Commerce information distortion.
THE UNDERSTANDING OF MODERN MARKET PLACE AND E-COMMERCE
Closely related to the need for the adoption of E-commerce is the clear cut understanding of a market place. A marketplace is essentially a platform where vendors can come together to sell their products or services to a curated customer base. An online store, on the other hand, is a single store selling its own products online. All marketing and operations are managed by the company that owns the website and products.
The difference between a market place and E-Commerce is that market place entails the shared platform that enables the exchange goods and services while as E-commerce necessarily relates to the conduct of the business on electronic and digital mediums such as computers and mobile devices with the use of internet to facilitate exchange of value and subsequent payment for the goods and services.
COMMON MARKET PLACES IN KENYA
The advent and adoption of new technologies in trade and commerce has changed the definition of a market as new it has become relatively easier to create new spaces for transaction of businesses online and offline. Some of the most popular online market places in Kenya includes pigiame.co.ke, jumia.co.ke, autochek.africa/ke, Kilimall among others.
