E-Commerce in Africa has been underway for the past couple of years and this industry is growing with every passing year. In different African countries, there are hundreds of different e-commerce startups that are operating and working well. All of these startups have produced thousands of new jobs and have the potential to create even more as the industry will grow. All of the jobs created by online startups are related to online marketplaces, supporting services, logistics, etc.
The African e-commerce industry has a lot of potential to grow but as compared to other continents, we have not seen much growth of the African e-commerce industry. There stand many hurdles in the way of growth including poor consumer trust, poor infrastructure, and poor logistics services, just to name a few of the major hurdles in the way of the growth of this industry. Today, we will be having a look at some of the ways how African E-Commerce Industry can grow in upcoming years:
Nations Need To Update Their Policies
The first thing that the governments and countries need to do in order to make their e-commerce industry flourish is to update their policies. The policies in Africa regarding online businesses and the e-commerce industry aren’t satisfying. Because of poor policies, Africa is behind all the other continents in the world.
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Africa is one of the largest continents in the world, consisting of a total of 54 nations, however, only a few nations have regulations in place for online consumer protection. This leads to poor consumer trust, which is one of the leading hurdles in the growth of the e-commerce industry. If all the countries in the continent shape their regulations that will support online businesses and the e-commerce industry then there is no reason why this industry won’t grow.
Internet Accessibility
Internet Accessibility still remains a huge hurdle in the way of digitalization and the growth of online businesses in the continent. Africa is one of the most populous continents in the world, however, only a little more than a quarter of the population regularly uses the Internet. This can be owed to the fact that internet accessibility in Africa is minimal and the costs of the Internet in Africa are much higher than in other parts of the world.
For e-commerce and digital businesses to grow in the continent, the governments need to provide affordable internet access to the people of their nations because in this age everything is digital and the internet has become a basic necessity of life. The Internet can not only make people more aware of what’s going on around the world and follow the latest trends but it also allows them to improve their lifestyle.
Improve Logistics Services
As mentioned earlier, poor logistics are another huge challenge that blocks the growth of the e-commerce industry. In Africa, the courier and logistics services are poor as compared to other parts of the world and the nations need to realize that if they want their local businesses to grow and flourish then they should work together and improve the logistics in their countries, otherwise, they will lag behind the rest of the world.
The governments can reduce the custom costs involved in overseas trading by the implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement but this alone won’t improve the courier and logistics services. The governments need to do much more in order to help their e-commerce industry grow.
Startups And Small Businesses Need To Be Coached
The majority of the startups in Africa need to be coached about digitalization and how they can improve their services accordingly in order to increase their profits. Most businesses and startups lack proper knowledge about the internet and e-commerce industry. In other parts of the world, online websites that are even providing services like letting the people play games like Solitaire and its more than 500 different variants such as Spider Solitaire, Freecell, etc for free are flourishing.
The main point here is that small businesses and startups need to be coached about digitalization and how they can use it in their favor and make for themselves a profitable future.
Need For More Payment Options
?Since the e-commerce industry operates digitally, there is a dire need for more e-payment options for the industry to grow. In Africa, the most popular and common method of payment is Cash-on-delivery. While COD is a good method for local markets, for cross-border markets, it is not an option that a foreign vendor can rely on. Therefore, along with all the other things, there is also a need for more e-payment options and wallets in order for the e-commerce industry to grow and reach new heights.