The Recycler Issue 333

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“It’s an easier model to set up and manage
cloud computing in a location and have
businesses sign up for a service, as opposed
to setting up and managing complex
distribution networks and complex sales
models that are required in Africa,”
opined cloud technology consultant
Obadiah Jeshuren Naidoo, touching
on the hurdles that have hitherto stymied
African e-commerce.
Meanwhile Alibaba, perhaps Amazon’s
main e-commerce competitor globally, is
currently engaged in what World Politics
Review called “a new scramble for Africa,”
which is also manifesting itself more
tangentially that simply setting up an
online shop.
“Alibaba’s expansion strategy is one of
‘inclusive development’,” the company’s
Brian Wong told CNBC Africa. “The
company seeks to work with local partners
who share our values and understand local
markets. By partnering with local platforms
in Africa and elsewhere, we believe we
can better enable SMEs and create a more
inclusive globalised trading network.”
Wong added that some of the company’s
services, like Alibaba Cloud, were still
available in Africa, but that overall “our
focus is on enabling local partners to
develop their own inclusive ecosystems.”
In the meantime, residents can still order
through Amazon’s overseas operations
internationally: At the tail-end of 2015,
the launch of the Amazon Global
programme allowed shoppers in 76
previously unsupported countries access
to “the majority of items in Amazon’s
product catalogue,” according to
Techpoint Africa.
By partnering with local platforms in Africa
and elsewhere, we believe we can better enable SMEs
and create a more inclusive globalised trading network.
Unused and unwanted
empty cartridges?
That said, don’t expect a volte-face from
Amazon any time soon: It seems that for the
retail giant, even Africa’s great leaps forward
in e-commerce over the last decade haven’t
created enough fertile ground.
“Until there is substantial demand from
consumers, and substantial infrastructure
to fulfil that demand,” says Arthur
Goldstuck, Managing Director of
consultancy firm World Wide Worx,
“e-commerce will remain an afterthought
for the likes of Amazon.”
Filling the void
Fortunately for the continent’s consumers,
however, Amazon’s reticence hasn’t been
the death knell for online shopping in the
region. As Nicolas Goldstein wrote for
Africa.com last year, “even if the African
countries are not the first in the global
ranking, the online buying itch is spreading
steadily on the continent.”
In 2019, the World Economic Forum
(WEF) estimated that there were around
264 e-commerce start-ups in operation
across Africa, with several gaining real
traction, and international attention.
Probably the most prominent is Ikeja,
Nigeria-based Jumia, a company which has
been nicknamed ‘the Amazon of Africa’
and which Quartz reports is “the largest
e-commerce player on the continent.”
OHANA
TECHNOLOGY
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To find out more, call Terry Bridgeman on +44 1328 633013, or email him at info@ohanatl.com
Issue 333
August 2020
5