Developing a Portal to Build a Business Community

Abstract

In June 2000 the Western Region Economic Development Organisation (WREDO), a not-for-profit organisation sponsored by the six municipalities that make up the western region of Melbourne (Australia), received a government grant for a project to set up a business-to-business portal. This innovative project was to create a horizontal portal, Bizewest, which would enable the whole range of small to medium enterprises in Melbourne’s West to engage in an increased number of e-commerce transactions with each other. Although Bizewest ceased operations in June 2003, the portal project as a whole must be considered to be a considerable success as it produced substantial benefits in compiling a register of businesses in the region, interesting many small to medium enterprises in the benefits of e-commerce and training school students in the design of e-commerce Web pages.