Business
African retail finds growing e-commerce outlet online as middle class expands
The newness of the sector creates a scramble for dominance and consumer choice. If a customer wants to trade second hand goods then OLX, owned by South African media and technology giant Naspers, provides an service online.
If it is Western goods, then Mall of Africa facilitates that online in Nigeria as does e-commerce store Konga.
Inevitably, the sector is growing quickest in sub-Saharan Africa’s sturdier economies and fastest of all in South Africa, with its more developed e-commerce sector.
But the potential in countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal is such that online retailers say their main aim is not to beat their competitors so much as to grab a bigger slice of the overall retail market.
“Becoming number one is not difficult. The real objective is to be the leader across online and offline,” said Jeremy Hodara, co-chief executive of Africa Internet Group.
Expansion requires attracting new customers, allaying fears of fraud, building trading platforms and mastering delivery networks, all on a continent where few use credit cards. African e-commerce firms take cash payments on receipt of goods to overcome this hurdle.
It also means persuading vendors that online sales can boost trade.
Source: Reuters
