Page - 291 - in Digital Entrepreneurship - Impact on Business and Society

digital entrepreneurship in Lebanon through selling niche products via online stores, for they are high in demand. Furthermore, starting up a digital business in developing countries, where online businesses are scarce provides digital entre- preneurs with the first-mover advantage, as opposed to in developed countries, where there exists a lot of monopoly and high competition in the e-commerce industry (such asAmazon.com). The two case studies and expert opinion indicate that digital entrepreneurship is a relatively novel concept in developing countries such as Lebanon and requires further development. Digital entrepreneurship requires a variety of competencies and skills, ranging from technical, financial, and managerial to risk-taking, and having an entrepreneurial and innovative culture. Therefore, we suggest that the state needs to mandate more protective laws to digital entrepreneurs and fill the digital skills gap, through education on digital entrepreneurship (technical skills, onlinemarketing, etc.) To overcome the digital infrastructure through, digital entrepreneurs could spot areaswhere the Internet is relatively faster and base their businesses around those areas, or pay an additional amount for instilling faster Internet, such as 5G Internet infrastructure.Another challenge is the lack of an adequate legal infrastructure that allows, for example, for an “e-signature,”where entrepreneurs have to dealwith a time-consuming process of printing, scanning, and faxing. In addition, digital entrepreneurs would benefit from getting funded through both public and private sectors tofinance risky, early-stage ventures, and ensure persistence and continuity of funding to these technological projects (Fig. 1). Challenges of digital entrepreneurship in developing countries Weak InsƟtuƟonal Infrastructure LebMall.com Lack of Human Capital Expert Opinion Absence of Necessary Funding Expert Opinion Social Issues WIB.com Lack of Online Payment Methods LebMall.com+WB.com OpportunuƟes of digital entrepreneurship in developing countroes Family/Personal ConnecƟons LebMall.com+WIB.com Selling Niche Products Lebmall.com EducaƟon/developing a skillset LebMall.com+WIB.com Rise of Tech Devices Expert Opinion 3F-s: Family, Friends, and Funds Expert Opinion Fig. 1 Challenges and opportunities of digital entrepreneurship based on the case studies 300 G. Samara and J. Terzian