E-commerce eyes rural regions
Europe is a mature, culturally rich continent with an outstanding variety of traditional products and handicrafts, from Greek pottery and German knives to French jewellery and Italian glass. More often than not, all these kinds of items, including a whole variety of traditional food and beverage products, are manufactured by small-time producers and SMEs. These individuals and companies are generally found in rural settings and do not take full advantage of the Internet revolution to reach out to the world. The EU-funded project 'Integrated transactions and imagination engineering to support the identity value chain' (Intrinsic) developed e-commerce solutions for these businesses to encourage their staying power and competitiveness. It supported the eEurope strategy which aims to create a powerful knowledge-driven economy on a global scale, in line with the EU's Lisbon Strategy. The Strategy itself was recently upgraded to consolidate local, national and regional players in order to boost e-business, increase competitiveness and help market European products all over the world. Intrinsic worked fervently on providing SMEs with cost-effective e-commerce solutions that have the power to advertise their wares to the four corners of the world. It promoted the exchange of good practices and tested a host of innovative tools that could achieve this aim. The project contributed to disseminating these tools across Europe, focusing in particular on enhancing the role of e-services in regional development. If the implicated SMEs in Europe succeed in showcasing their goods and products online in accordance with the colour and heritage of their own regions, the socioeconomic benefits will be immeasurable. Local sustainability will also receive an important boost. Finally, the activities promotion, marketing and sales in rural areas can jump on the e-commerce bandwagon too.
