16/03/2022
🌍 Online Markets in Africa: Fast Growth, Great Potential
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📌Electronic commerce is gaining momentum in Africa as Internet access expands, trust grows and logistics modernize. No market has more growth opportunities than Africa.
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🔹 People in the West usually perceive Africa as a poor continent, where anything that is not strictly necessary-such as online shopping-is a luxury for a small elite. The reality, of course, is much more complicated than that.
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🔹 Africa has a young population, fast-growing cities, and rapidly increasing disposable income. It is home to 54 countries, each at a different stage of economic development. Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, also has the largest economy, ahead of many developed countries, including Ireland, Israel and Norway.
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🔹In Africa, online retail revenue is estimated at about $20 billion a year, which is only 3.5% of total retail sales. Thus, online sales for all of Africa are at a lower level than in Australia. However, Africa's population of 1.35 billion is on par with China. Unlike China, Africa's population is growing rapidly, so the demographic skew in favor of young people will continue for decades to come.
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👉🏻 This means that Africa is well positioned for rapid growth in both the overall economy and e-commerce. It will take a few years for it to overtake countries like China, the U.S. and Japan, but Africa's e-commerce market of the future could become the largest in the world.