SEEU Review vol. 6 Nr. 2 (pdf) - South East European University

E-Marketplaces: Way to Go for Smalland Medium Enterprises in MacedoniaAdrian Besimi, MScZamir Dika, PhDContemporary Sciences and TechnologiesSouth East European UniversityAbstractThe Internet penetration in Macedonia and the region is increasing up tothe European level of usage. Majority of the businesses in Macedonia useInternet which can be also supported by statistics, but unfortunately theylack on using e-commerce or at least some level of order acceptance usingInternet.The developing countries’ Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) shouldbenefit from the use of Internet as a channel for promotion and sales of theirproducts or services. Since Business-to-Consumer (B2C) e-commerce isdifficult for SMEs from Macedonia and the region because of the market,which is already taken by bigger companies from Europe (Germany, UnitedKingdom, and others), another approach towards Business-to-Business(B2B) e-commerce using e-marketplace portals is proposed in this paper.E-marketplaces can facilitate the connection between SMEs and theirpartners, thus providing an electronic market where “Supply and Demand”will do their magic. These e-marketplaces can help by offering free listing,product submission, communication as well as standardization towards B2Bframeworks currently existing out there.101