E-Commerce in sub-Saharan Africa

BY SISONKE MGWEBI

In 2020, Africa’s online shopping revenue reached nearly $28 billion, an increase of over $6 billion since 2019. Forecasts show that by 2025 revenue could reach a value of over $46 billion, which is promising because currently in sub-Saharan Africa, 59 percent of e-commerce sales happen on mobile devices and by the end of 2020 46 percent of the region’s population subscribed to mobile services.

By 2025, 40 percent of Africa’s mobile users will use e-commerce and 4G adoption is expected to double to 28 percent, compared to a global average of 57 percent. The volume of downloads and installations of eCommerce apps in 2021 grew by 55 percent on Android devices and 32 percent on iOS. These numbers could grow as forecasts show an increase of 56 percent in active online shoppers, from 334 million to 518 million users between 2021 and 2025.

Monthly website traffic is a key performance indicator of the success of an e-commerce platform. Keeping this in mind, leading e-commerce companies in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya dominate the sub-Saharan e-commerce landscape. The top five platforms are Jumia, Takealot, Konga, bidorbuy, and Kilimall. A World Wide Worx study focused on South Africa’s e-commerce industry in 2020 revealed a 66 percent growth in online retail to the value of 30.2 billion ZAR.

Africa has a budding e-commerce industry reflecting an increasing consumer comfort with shopping online and disposable income. This could drive economic development by attracting more companies to African shores and fostering the growth of local companies.

SISONKE MGWEBI, an associate consultant at Frost & Sullivan Africa, gives an insight on the growing e-commerce business in sub-Saharan Africa