Bhutan Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment

Bhutan is a latecomer to the ICT space. The country is therefore well positioned to reap the advantages of a late starter in the technology space by not having any legacy systems, but having reliable access to electricity, access to relatively more cost effective technologies and opportunities for adoption of new (and open) standards.

The analysis of the current ICT capabilities landscape in Bhutan, coupled with feedback from industry and government institutions have shown that key e-commerce barriers could be broken down in four different areas:

• Weak domestic demand for ICT services, and a high reliance on public sector ICT projects.
• Lack of clarity and complementarity among the numerous governmentled initiatives, especially in the absence of a proper e-commerce strategy and e-commerce law.
• Lack of innovation and related financing solutions.
• Skills gap and mismatch in the ICT talent pool.

To download the report please visit:

https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/dtlstict2017d1_en.pdf