July-2019

50 / TREND / E-commerce
TREND / 51
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than men when they take up ride-hailing work, with both
genders saying the flexibility allows them to engage in extra
income-generating activities beyond driving.
JOBS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
On a continent with the highest number of young people
aged between 15 and 24, Africa is faced with the challenge of
finding quality jobs for its unemployed youth, estimated by
the World Bank to be 60 percent of all unemployed people.
According to the Africa Development Bank (AfDB), a
third of the continent’s 420 million youths aged 15 to 35 are
unemployed, while another third are underemployed, meaning
that they earn below-average wages. AfDB notes that while 10
to 12 million youths enter the workforce each year, only 3.1
million jobs are created. But, it’s also in Africa where Internet
penetration has risen fastest over the last decade, with 37.3
percent of Africans having Internet access as of March 2019,
compared to 2.1 percent in 2005.
This, coupled with a growing middle class, has given rise
to the growth and usage of e-commerce platforms, such as taxi
apps, but also online market platforms, such as Jumia, Konga
and Kilimall. McKinsey estimates that e-commerce in Africa
will generate US$75 billion in annual sales and will contribute
US$300 billion to GDP by 2025, compared to US$18 billion in
2013.
SHOPPING SHOCK WAVE
But beyond the headline figures and company bottom lines,
online marketplaces have the transformative ability to create
quality jobs for African youths. Jumia, which listed on the New
York Stock Exchange in April, has 4,000 employees spread
across 14 countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and
“Ride-hailing apps have
enabled more women to
sign up as drivers due to
the flexibility and security
features of the apps”
The house always wins
According to the study, Airbnb in South Africa: The
Positive Impact of Healthy Tourism, three African
countries (Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique) are among
the top eight fastest-growing countries in the world for
guest arrivals, while South Africa, Morocco and Kenya
attract the most Airbnb bookings in Africa.
The report also explains that the financial benefit of
this new industry for the people is significant because it
goes beyond just hosting. Airbnb’s Experiences (activities
sold to tourists by locals), “Is a platform for economic
empowerment: hosts keep 80 percent of what guests
pay for an Experience, and they are fully in control of how
and when they provide them.”
Uganda. It has created thousands of job opportunities in the
six years it has been operating through the more than 50,000
partners it works with in logistics, customer care and other
support services. In Kenya alone, Jumia employs 700 people
with an average age of 26, and it works with nearly 30,000
independent, commission-based sales agents and logistics
partners across the country.
MOBILITY MATTERS
Meanwhile, Uber has close to 10,000 active drivers in
Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, while Bolt (formerly Taxify) has
“tens of thousands” of taxi and motorcycle drivers in Kenya,
according to the company’s Regional General Manager East
Africa Shivachi Muleji. “Two years ago, about half of our drivers
were joining from the traditional taxis but we’ve now
on-boarded more new drivers to the platform,” he says. “A
majority of the drivers are below 35, with a good number fresh
out of college.”
On average, drivers on ride-hailing apps in Kenya take
home about US$350 per month, which is slightly above the
national average of US$300 per month for drivers. “We have
people who would otherwise still be job hunting who are now
generating an income. They can support themselves and feed
their families,” says Muleji. “Kenya is still at the dawn of the
cab-hailing industry. We’re likely to see a lot of opportunities
in the coming years as technology disrupts how people move
around in a more efficient, safe and cheaper way.”
A report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG),
How Online Marketplaces Can Power Employment in Africa,
validates Muleji’s outlook, estimating that online marketplaces
could create three million new jobs in Africa by 2025; roughly
one job for every 15 unemployed workers (aged 15 to 24). “We
estimate that the number of Africans directly employed by
online marketplaces – workers such as platform developers
and operations and marketing personnel – will reach around
100,000,” notes the report.
FULL HOUSE
In the hospitality sector, peer-to-peer accommodation
platform Airbnb has enabled home and property owners in
Africa to host 3.5 million guests since 2008, earning a combined
total of US$400 million.
In Kenya, the platform now offers more than 4,000 homes
for rent across the country, which is more than double the
number in 2015. The number of guests choosing to stay at an
Airbnb in Kenya has also more than tripled in the same period,
with home owners earning US$950 on average in 2018.
Over half of the property owners are freelancers, work parttime
or are stay-at-home parents. However, the impact is also
being felt down the value chain as more jobs are being created
for property managers and service providers – such as cleaners
and tour guides – to support the millions of guests booking
homestays on the continent.
Principal & Recruiting Director of BCG Amane Dannouni
admits that online marketplaces are not a panacea for Africa’s
youth unemployment, but he says the emerging segments and
players have demonstrated the potential of creating more inclusive,
skilled and self-employed jobs. “Online marketplaces not
only create a new skill in digital literacy but also allow women,
the youth and minorities to have a level playing field,” he says.
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4,000
Jumia has 4,000 direct employees and
Kenya has 4,000 homes listed on Airbnb
6,000
The number of active Uber drivers
in Kenya
3 Million
Online marketplaces are set to create
3 million jobs by 2025
474 Million
The number of people that have access
to the Internet in Africa
75 Billion
E-commerce in Africa is expected
to generate US$75 billion in annual
sales by 2025