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eBusiness Blog

Tag >> Small Business

Small Business Digital Divide

Posted by: Raul Reynoso in Small Business Strategies, Small Business, Digital Divide, Business Strategy on Mar 15, 2008

Poor people and minorities have always been less likely than average to use the web and less likely to have internet access at home.    However, there is also a small business digital divide.

Smaller businesses with fewer resources generally make lighter user of information technologies.  The same is true for minority-owned businesses.  For example, HispanicBusiness.com reports that Hispanic-owned businesses are less likely than average to use the internet; information technology in general; have a website; or have an ecommerce strategy. 

Legacy of the Digital Divide

While the digital divide has not disappeared, it has narrowed in the last several years.  However, many of today's minority business owners came of age when the digital divide was much deeper than it is today.  Consequently, they are not as familiar with the technology as their white counterparts.  The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, which studied the issue for IBM, says this lack of familiarity results in lower levels of technology use by minority-owned businesses. 

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