Facilitating Expansion of African International Trade through Information and Communication Technologies

Abstract

This article observes that expansion of international trade, particularly exports of appropriate goods, by African economies is important to their growth and development. Unfortunately, Africa’s share of world trade has been decreasing rather than increase. The continent is behind other continents in developmental terms, despite its many resource endowments. Governance deficiencies (broadly defined) are a major cause of the inability of African economies to manage their resources for sustained growth and development. The article looks at the particular consequences of governance deficiencies on trade expansion and goes on to suggest that the deployment of ICT can ameliorate those deficiencies. It focuses on the potential positive impact of e-governance in general, and e-customs in particular, on trade expansion. It argues that e-governance, including e-customs, has the potential to enhance the international competitiveness of African economies, increase revenues for government, and increase FDI inflows for production and exportation. It concludes that while e-customs is not a panacea for Africa’s international trade under-performance, it is an important piece of infrastructure that is relatively easier and cheaper to build, but which has a high beneficial impact on trade expansion. It therefore recommends the implementation of efficient e-customs in African economies that do not yet have such systems.

What Drives and Hinders the Use of New e-Customs Systems in Developing Countries of Sub-Saharan Africa? An Empirical Study from Cameroon

“…Those are crucial aspects for job creation, the ability of people to make a living and ultimately, human development. Laryea (2012) recommends the implementation of efficient e-customs systems in African countries based on secondary data. The author claims that customs modernization can solve governance deficiencies that have caused the incapability of African economies to manage their rich resources for sustained growth and development.…”

“…While most of the existing studies as seen above are qualitative (Addo & Avgerou, 2020; Hong & Park, 2018;Abada & Rusu, 2014) and case studies (Jung, 2017;Laryea, 2012;Cantens et al, 2010), Salehi et al (2010) conduct an empirical study with a quantitative approach from the perspective of users to explore challenges of Iran's e-customs. The authors find barriers in implementation of the e-customs system in Iran from the clients' viewpoint.…”

“…Among e-government systems, customs automation (e-customs) systems significantly contribute to economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries (Laryea, 2012). e-Customs is an electronic medium covering the processes of submission, issuance, transmission, and receipt of documents for exports and imports.…”

“…It can enhance competitiveness, reduce transaction costs and corruption, strengthen border security, and increase revenues for government and foreign direct investment. Several studies reveal that international trade through ICTs can facilitate and expand developing countries' economies (Addo & Avgerou, 2020;Laryea, 2012;Engman, 2009;Milner et al, 2008;McMaster & Nowak, 2006). Although the role of e-customs is crucial, particularly in developing countries, research in this field is limited.…”