In November 2022, Digicel launched Tonga’s maiden e-commerce platform, Beehive, marking an important step forward in the country’s efforts towards building an inclusive digital economy.

The launch came less than three months after the release of Tonga’s E-Commerce Strategy and Roadmap in which the Minister for Trade and Economic Development, Viliami Uasike Latu, highlighted the country’s strategic intent to maximise the economic opportunities offered by digital trade.

“As more countries are embracing and progressing digital economies, it is evident that e-commerce is becoming a bigger part of the ‘new normal’ and it is the future,” he wrote in the foreword of the strategy.

In a region where business-to-consumer e-commerce platforms are rare, Beehive provides everyday Tongans and their family and friends in the diaspora with a safe and convenient avenue to exchange goods and services.

The Pacific Digital Economy Report cites low transaction volumes as the primary reason big e-commerce companies, such as Amazon and Alibaba, do not have an established and sustained presence in the region.

UNCDF partnered with Digicel to develop and launch Beehive, in line with its global strategic priority to leverage digital financial services that improve the lives of marginalised segments of society – the so-called ‘base of the pyramid.’

Lineti Fifita, Digicel Tonga’s Operations Manager, said the platform is another example of the company’s desire to introduce innovative and new technology in the country.

Ms Fifita added that Digicel invested in the new platform to support the ambitions of the national e-commerce strategy, which highlights the crucial role governments and regulators in the Pacific play in catalysing the market for digital financial services and driving innovation.

Like any brand new initiative, the platform has faced hurdles since entering the market, including low transaction volumes, and limited digital payment options.

With 902 registered users and 101 vendors, Ms Fifita described the app’s performance in its first year as “very challenging, because it is basically new to the market.”

Digicel, however, is staying focused on the “end outputs” and regularly updates the platform based on customer feedback and market dynamics. They believe that e-commerce has the potential to become a staple of the economy, allowing Tonga to reap the benefits of digital trade.

“We are here for the long haul,” Ms Fifita said.

UNCDF Partnership

UNCDF, through the Pacific Digital Economy Programme, partnered with Digicel and Beehive to support the Government's vision of leveraging e-commerce for job creation and to stimulate economic growth, innovation, and prosperity.

Maria Perdomo, Regional Coordinator, UNCDF Asia and the Pacific, and Deputy Director for Inclusive Digital Economies, said: “Investing in e-commerce can help Tonga enjoy the same economic advantages we have seen in other countries. This includes removing mobility barriers that MSMEs face to sell their products in new markets.

"It also helps with increased access to finance by leveraging transactional data collected by the e-commerce platforms. These barriers have historically affected women-owned MSMEs more than those owned by men. Therefore, this is also an investment in women as builders of inclusive digital economies in Tonga.”

E-commerce Challenges

Many of the barriers to e-commerce in Tonga would not have been known until the introduction of Beehive, and that has set the platform for the Government to work with development partners like UNCDF to fulfill its the potential.

“It has allowed the government regulators to see how effective and efficient this tool will be for them to track and trace how we are performing overall as a market in terms of e-commerce and economic development,” Digicel's Ms Fifita said.

Before Beehive, much of the digital trade in Tonga occurred on social media, particularly Facebook, such as Haitelenisia Angilau’s translation, tutoring and travel agency consultancy.

More than 60% of the country’s population have Facebook accounts, according to the 2022 Pacific Digital Economy Report published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) with support from UNCDF.

Notwithstanding the challenges, there is a clear movement of people online and Digicel and the Government sees an opportunity to strengthen digital and financial inclusion in this trend.

In remarks at the 67th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67) in New York last year, Tonga’s Minister for Internal Affairs, Lord Vaea, announced the country’s plans to make internet access universal by 2025.

The Minister cautioned however that cyber security, online threats, exploitation, data protection, online bullying, abuse, and gender-based violence remain major challenges that need to be collectively addressed.

Ms Fifita said Digicel was addressing some of these challenges through a combination of awareness and capacity building programmes that are aimed at educating the market about e-commerce.

Some of these campaigns have directly targeted vendors and customers on Tongan social media to help them migrate onto Beehive, with safety and security pitched as the key selling points.

“It's going to be a journey because changing mindsets will take time, but with your [UNCDF] support, and also if we can win over the regulators, that would really provide high-level support from authorities in terms of going out there into the market and selling our e-commerce platform,” Ms Fifita added.

More than one year after the launch, the Beehive platform has endured ups and downs.

Digicel is adamant that, with an enabling policy and regulatory environment, greater awareness and capacity, and the support of development partners, strong results can be achieved.

“We will stay focused in our vision and the end outputs that we are anticipating and foresee out of this project. That’s why we will keep on pushing,” Ms Fifita said.