Expert: E-commerce to dominate African retail markets over the next five years.

The market presents a lot huge opportunity for investors and business owners alike and there is an upsurge in consumer behaviour as observed by experts.

Consequently, a myriad of opportunities are being provided for online retailers to buy and sell both new and used items.

Among companies that provide such platforms are online marketplace Website such as Kaymu and Jumia.

Africa CEO Massimiliano Spalazzi, said in a report that e-commerce is now one of the key and arguably the leading enabler for growth within the consumer sector in Africa adding that E-commerce is set to dominate African retail markets over the next five years.

A report by global consulting firm which provides market research and analysis Frost & Sullivan predicted that the market will be worth $50 billion in 2018 compared to its worth in 2013 at Sh 701 billion ($8 billion)- many thanks to Investment money blowing into the market.

There is a promising future for e-commerce industry in West Africa even though online shopping is still not where it should be.

Nevertheless, it is encouraging to know that e-commerce companies are beginning to stage a heavy presence in the Africa's marketplace and are rapidly gaining market share offering a wide selection of products on sale such as health and beauty, clothing, electronics, fashion, grocery and also allows for a variety of options for payment including cash on delivery, Bank Deposit and Internet Banking Transfer.

There are a number of West African online commerce sites that have raised their profiles as E-commerce companies including Jumia, Kasoa, GoShop, and Konga.com.  

Major factors that have been contributory are the upsurge in the numbers of mobile and internet users and the meeting of specific demands by customers made possible by the creation of a marketplace platform for buyers and sellers to meet.

According to reports, a fraction of Gross Domestic Product gotten from online shopping in Africa could likely increase to at least 6 percent by 2025, matching that of enviable economies such as United Kingdom and Sweden. The report also said if the internet could achieve the same kind of impact as witnessed by the rapid spread of mobile phones in Africa, GDP could account for as much as 300 billion dollars of the total Gross Domestic Product while advancing economic and social development.

E-commerce in Kenya has not been really encouraging despite the high rate of internet users and increasing demand for connectivity in the region.

High taxes on goods, fear of cybercrime and website phishing have been cited by the Communications Authority of Kenya as some of factors that pose as a threat to the success of ecommerce in Kenya. Imagine a duty and tax paid for an incoming items amounting to a ridiculous 50 per cent of the value of an item? This is definitely a militating factor.

Online trading in products or services remains comparatively low in Kenya despite good Internet connectivity and spread of mobile payment services. As earlier mentioned, high taxes on goods, insecured internet communications systems, inadequate systems to manage potential fraud and lack of a reliable process to enable consumers return unwanted or defective items are factors that stifle the system.

The Communication Authority estimates the value of e-commerce in Kenya at $47,095,406 US compared to South Africa’s $59, 143, 068 while in Egypt and Morocco it is about $185,834,990 and $104,942,112 billion respectively.

Lately, Kenya has risen as one of the quickest adopters of new technologies in Africa. There are at present, 22.3 million online clients in the nation.

The expanded interest in fibre optic foundation also aided the reach as well as lessened the expense of Internet expenses definitely in the course of recent years. It also shone the spotlight on what exactly shoppers were paying for when utilizing satellite network to connect to the world.

Nonetheless, e-commerce is rapidly gathering momentum in Kenya, riding on boundless versatile cash exchange administrations and the developing number of cell phone clients.

 Jumia which works in Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire is the most recent participant to gain access into Kenya's e-commerce market.

Former CEO of Jumia Kenya, Nick Miller said that in the wake of "splitting achievement in Nigeria" that it was typical for the e-business stage to set shop in Kenya.

Kenya is mechanically best in class as far as portable cash instalments, regarding cell phone entrance and the openness to new innovation and the most flourishing economy in East Africa. The business sector at the time didn't have genuine rivalry”

In Kenya business space, there’s rapidity and demonstrated enthusiasm for online shopping.

A considerable measure of Kenyans who have relatives abroad are purchasing online with Amazon, asking the merchandise to be dispatched to relatives who bring them to Kenya next time they visit. That demonstrates that Kenya is exceptionally open to web shopping."

"There is an enormous development of retail market here in Kenya – a ton of new shopping centres, a ton of continuous development – yet there is an absence of specific brands that you can't get in Kenya. As opposed to needing to ship a commodity to a location in the UK and afterward holding up to a month, Jumia provides a platform for individuals to purchase provincially.

Since it started operations in March, the organisation records an expanded number of clients’ monthly.

The firm recently dispatched an Android application to take advantage of the developing number of customers utilising cell phones.

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