E-commerce Adoption amid High E-money Acceptance in Zimbabwe

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has revolutionised the way organisations are doing business and has become the most critical factor in gaining a competitive edge. Electronic commerce is one such technology that enables organisations to create business relationships, share business information and do business via telecommunications networks. This study aims to unveil the B2B ecologies around low adoption of e-commerce by SMEs amid high e-money acceptance in the CBD of Mutare. The study adopted the interpretivism research philosophy and qualitative research design in order to acquire in-depth of information on low e-commerce uptake mid high e-money usage. Technological Acceptance Model informed the study. Challenges that hinder SMEs from fully adopting e-commerce platforms include soaring costs of purchasing ICT infrastructure, lack of ICT policy, inadequate awareness of the benefits of e-commerce. Training and workshops and formulation of ICT policy, were among the strategies that were highlighted to improve on uptake of e-commerce by SMEs thereby building trust and confidence in e-commerce users amid rampant fraud cases on online. The study contributes to the academic literature and discussions on the various challenges and mitigating factors that can be employed to improve on e-commerce uptake in the widely-money acceptance ecology.