The e-commerce boom in Africa

An opportunity to bring business to the masses

Across Africa e-commerce is booming, with 500m users and a market value in excess of $46b predicted by 2025. Of the industries poised to take advantage, it’s arguably the region’s telco operators who are one of the best positioned to drive this digital shopping revolution. 

Having helped deliver the network infrastructure on which much of this expanding ecosystem is being developed, providers like Ethio Telecom plan to offer customers site builder and e-commerce software as part of their business bundle from 2023. 

And with challenger banks and mobile money startups developing viable alternatives for the 50% of African adults who don’t currently have a traditional bank account, the rewards for those able to capitalise on the e-commerce opportunity are going to be huge. 

A global trend through an African lens 

In recent years the global e-commerce market has grown rapidly. This has been driven by a variety of factors including improvements in connectivity, rising mobile device usage, an improved online buying experience and changing shopping habits. 

Africa currently leads the way in mobile device web traffic, with a recent report highlighting that 69% of its total web traffic comes from mobile users. The same report also notes that the continent’s mobile internet usage is 13% above the global average. 

#DigitalNative #NetGen #Zoomer

However you choose to define users born after 1997, it’s this cohort that are most comfortable buying and selling products or services online.

Tech-savvy with a penchant for social media, Gen Z aren’t content to simply take the role of consumer. They understand that mobile-first technology can power their business aspirations and help them become successful entrepreneurs in their own right.  

Indeed, a recent survey found that 78% of young Africans aged 18-24 plan to start their own business in the next five years. Providing these new found business owners with the digital tools they need to succeed is a surefire way of growing your customer base and boosting retention. 

Your e-commerce platform. Straight out of the box. 

African telcos looking to offer e-commerce software often come up against two obstacles: time and money. It takes time to develop an e-commerce product your customers are going to want to use and this process requires significant investment.

One solution is white labelled software. This option gives telco operators a fully functioning, tried and tested product that they can call their own. Here at BaseKit we’re experts at building easy to use white labelled digital products that small business customers love. Best of all, our products are mobile-first by design. 

Over the last 10 years we’ve helped 100+ partners deliver millions of websites and e-commerce stores for entrepreneurs around the world. 

We’re on a mission for tech democracy for small businesses – are you? Request a demo of our white label software today.