Publication: Chile : Accelerating e-Business for Small Business Innovation and Growth
Date
2003-03
ISSN
Published
2003-03
Author(s)
Hanna, James
Abstract
Small businesses are important for
employment creation and growth in Chile. They provide 73
percent of all private sector employment; half in
micro-businesses (own account and firms employing fewer than
10 employees). But small business average growth was only
2.8 percent from 1994- 2000, less than half the 6.4 percent
of large businesses. President Ricardo Lagos considers
Chile's incorporation into the global and digital
economy a top priority: "we are discovering that
technology will enable us to surmount the geographical
disadvantages of our nation. It is our obligation to take
advantage of it to the fullest" (Inauguration speech,
Santiago Times, November 24, 2000). The national strategy,
"Chile: Toward the Information Society" lays out
five key areas for digital development: technology
infrastructure; community and business access; the legal
framework for electronic transactions; education; and
government services. Responding to this agenda, the World
Bank's "Chile: Accelerating E-Business For Small
Business Innovation and Growth" (November 2002)
profiles Chile's small business sector, benchmarks
e-business progress in Chile in relation to OECD countries,
reviews public policies and programs emerging in Chile to
promote e-business among small firms, and identifies some
lessons from experience. Finally, it suggests measures that
might accelerate and deepen e-business adoption in Chile.
This work is a part of a larger forthcoming sector report by
the Bank on Chile's new economy.
Citation
“Hanna, James. 2003. Chile : Accelerating e-Business for Small Business Innovation and Growth. en breve; No. 21. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/3e865709-c872-569e-8eac-0f6291a52321 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”