(IJACSA) International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications, Vol. 6, No. 9, 2015 32 | Page www.ijacsa.thesai.org Expansion of e-Commerce Coverage to Unreached Community by using Micro-Finance Infrastructure Ashir Ahmed Department of Advanced Information Technology Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Kazi Mozaher Hossein Department of Advanced Information Technology Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Md. Asifur Rahman Department of Advanced Information Technology Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Takuzo Osugi Institute for Academic Initiatives Osaka University, Osaka, Japan Akira Fukuda Department of Advanced Information Technology Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Hiroto Yasuura Department of Advanced Information Technology Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan Abstract—Most people at the BOP (base of the economic pyramid, the largest but the poorest community in the world comprising 69% of world population) do not have access to e- commerce services. The way e-commerce is designed and practiced today does not enable their participation. The reasons are: their purchasing power is low, they do not have any means to make online payments, and there is no infrastructure to deliver the purchased items to their doors. To enable the participation of the people at BOP, we propose an e-commerce framework by engaging MFI resources and our recently developed ePassbook system. This paper shows how the BOP community can enjoy the benefits of the e-commerce service by using the proposed model. The advantages of making e- commerce available to the BOP are discussed, in addition to the challenges involved in implementing the model. Keywords—ICT; BoP; microfinance; E-commerce; social services; ePassbook I. INTRODUCTION E-commerce over the Internet has been in practice for more than a decade. E-commerce enables people to purchase products from a remote place at any time of the day and get the desired products delivered to their doors. It saves time, money and labor. A product seller can upload the product information on the web and can breach the boundaries of the local market to reach the customers on a global scale. A customer, on the other hand, can search for a desired product in a much more extensive selection space, and can find the suitable product. In this way, e-commerce brings benefits for both the buyers and sellers as indicated by the trend in e-sales. From 2006 to the second quarter of 2015, retail e-sales have increased at an average annual growth rate 35%, compared with 7.2% for the total retail sales in United States [1]. In order to purchase a product through a web-based e-commerce service, a customer needs access to the Internet and an online payment mechanism, typically a credit card. Presently 43% of world population has access to the Internet, however, 4 billion people from developing countries remain offline, representing 2/3 of the population [2]. Apparently, 16.42% people hold a credit card (this figure is assumed from the fact that 3.3 billion cards were issued globally and on an average each individual holds 3 credit cards). How about the remaining majority of the population? Do they not have any interest in participating and enjoying the benefits of e-commerce? These unreached are the 4 billion people at the BOP [3], comprising 69% of the world population shown in Fig.1. Despite their low income and limited purchase capacity, they make frequent purchases within their limited spending power [4]. According to [3], there is money at the BOP and their purchasing habits mean that they actually pay more for certain items than wealthier customers. This BoP penalty is the consequence of local monopolies, inadequate access, poor distribution and strong traditional intermediaries. Fig. 1. Base of the Pyramid (BOP), the largest but the poorest community in the world