Listers, First it will be good to know if the government has enough data on the eCommerce environment in Kenya. Thereafter such a study, it will be possible to create a better revenue analysis model that will allow the taxman to benefit at the same time enabling the govt to create a conducive environment to encourage and catalyze the Internet economy. Regards Gideon Rop Hi Barrack,

Thank you for the the questions. @ Fred on the issue of taxation for the Internet economy....

I was listening to a representative from Jumia the other day on radio. By her presentation, the volume of merchandise moved per day is quite high and this business is really catching on in Kenya. If I remember they had an increase of 900%in turnover in Africa. While they warn that the high sales have not yet translated into profit, the whole business model is interesting and at some point the government will want a share of the profits. The same will happen to the cloud economy and other Internet businesses, if what happened in Chicago is anything to go by.

However, more needs to be done on consumer education and protection. For example, when one buys a phone online and it is faulty, should the online company collect, repair or replace the phone or should the consumer take the phone to the service centre? Consumer protection can either be done through self regulation where the online companies make very good policies on dealing with consumer complaints. Otherwise , the companies cannot be responsive, then the law/its enforcement must be strengthened.

Regards,

2015-07-22 7:42 GMT+03:00 Barrack Otieno via kictanet < kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke>:

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Listers,

The rise of the Internet economy in Kenya has been defined by different strokes. On one hand there are small entrepreneurs doing their side hustles from offices, small shops and car boots. They advertise their merchandise and services on social media and in a rudimentary form, some deliver merchandise in backpacks from door to door. Enter the bigger players who have large websites from where goods and services are purchased. Their business models differ. We have companies like OLX, Cheki that provide a platform for users to interact. They make their money from advertising. Others such as Rupu and Jumia offer services and merchandise at reduced prices.

Questions

1. Does an adequate legal framework exist to protect consumers from fraud, deficient goods and services and to assure consumer rights in the budding Internet economy? 2. Since the bigger players in the sector are doing well, is time ripe for the local Internet economy to be taxed to raise money for government services? 3. Should other services in the Internet economy such as cloud services, international online purchases etc be taxed? 4. As a stakeholder , what are your recommendations on how the Internet economy can be improved?

The floor is open, feel free to continue contributing to the discussions of the previous days.

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