Republic of Vanuatu Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment

The Vanuatu Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment is the ninth such assessment conducted by UNCTAD and the third for a Pacific Islands Nation, after Samoa in July 2017 and Solomon Islands in March 2018. Development of e-commerce in Vanuatu should not be treated as a goal in itself. Vanuatu faces several obstacles to the effective deployment of communications and other infrastructure, e-commerce skill and knowledge gaps, access to devices, trust, protection of data, as well as content and applications. The Government has shown a strong interest in adopting economic and social policies that can facilitate the development of the Internet economy, of which e-commerce is only one segment. Unlocking its potential will also reduce distance to markets, reduce “sealockedness” and enable Vanuatu to leapfrog certain barriers associated with physical trade. For this to happen, public sector coordination is paramount. The call for greater coherence of policy actions through the formulation of an encompassing e-commerce strategy is one of the key recommendations of this report.