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B2BPRICENOW.COM, an e-marketplace for agricultural,
chemical and construction products, will now enable farmers,
cooperatives, and small entrepreneurs to do online trading via
their cell phones.
The e-marketplace allows both
buyers and sellers to access information and perform
transactions via SMS (short messaging service) or WAP
(wireless application protocol), made possible by its
partnerships with Globe Telecoms and Smart Communications Inc.
Erick S. Kalugdan, IT consultant for the
e-marketplace, told Computerworld Philippines that members can
check prices of prevailing products and the status of their
online trading as well as access product catalogs.
He said B2Bpricenow.com aims to bring more
farmers into the online marketplace so it provided a cheaper
way of bringing the facility to them.
"Finding a
computer is no longer a problem since they can now connect
using their cell phones," Kalugdan said.
He said,
however, that mobile phones are just one alternative way to
access the Web site and do online trading. Members can also go
to Internet kiosks provided by partner government agencies
such as the Department of Agriculture (DA) or Land Bank of the
Philippines and non-government organizations such as the
Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM).
"Catholic churches also have livelihood centers run by
the CBCP.net that provide Internet connectivity. These centers
were established to help farmers learn computer and Internet
skills," Kalugdan said.
Launched last February,
B2Bpricenow.com already has 400 active buyers and sellers in
the agriculture, chemical and construction industries.
"Right now we are in the information dissemination
phase. We are extensively doing roadshows to
introduce the e-marketplace to the people in the countryside
and to give them basic knowledge about e-commerce and its
benefits," said Kalugdan.
The company has also formed
alliances with the Land Bank of the Philippines, the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and DA to ensure that
its online trading service would reach farmers, cooperatives
and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs nationwide.
"The e-marketplace will help farmers offer their goods
online, eliminating middlemen who do the trading and other
transactions," he said. "Landbank has a network of
cooperatives in 21 regions that we hope to tap and provide
service to in the coming years."
Aside from providing
the client base, Landbank will also facilitate the signing up
of members and provide loans to cooperatives that wish to
purchase a computer and get Internet connectivity or to
farmers who wish to buy mobile phones to access the Web site.
As a technical partner, Unisys Philippines designed
the Web site and maintains it. Ating Alamin, a show by
agricultural guru Gerry Geronimo, is the sole content partner,
responsible for maintaining and updating information on the
latest trends in the agriculture sector.
Kalugdan said
payments for the online trading in the e- marketplace can be
made through fund transfers facilitated by partner banks like
Landbank, 1st e-Bank and Union Bank of the Philippines. "We
will soon offer e-payment via online fund transfers. We are
just awaiting the clearance from the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas (BSP) that will allow fund transfers for B2B
payments."
Meanwhile, PRRM and the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines (PUP) will provide training and
seminars on basic Internet knowhow and e-commerce to farmers,
SMEs and cooperatives for the e-marketplace, Kalugdan said.
REVENUES
B2bpricenow.com charges a
0.25% fee for every transaction made by its member buyers or
sellers. Another revenue source for the e-marketplace is its
Web development service for cooperatives or SMEs that want to
have their own Web sites.
"We offer Web
page development and hosting for P2,800 a year," said
Kalugdan. "We also earn from online advertising as well as
from our partnership with the telcos. We are given 40 centavos
for every SMS message that our buyers and sellers send through
their systems."
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