Grace Ashiru
Response Architects, the company that operates ShopEX, has entered into an exclusive agreement with Alibaba Cloud, the company that provides intelligence backbone and digital technology for the Alibaba Group, to launch an African Livestream shopping platform called Penda in major markets including Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria,
Penda would provide fulfillment and end-to-end solution for merchants’ live streaming throughout Africa. This will be accomplished by capitalizing on ShopEX’s successful launch of its teleshopping model.
Because of the platform’s architecture, retailers, key opinion leaders and influencers will be able to organize and conduct their Livestream events to launch items, showcase demos, and inteinteracth customers in real-time.Purchasing within the app will make it possible to make payments without having to exit the app or the Livestream event.
The latest craze in online retail is known as “Livestream shopping.” With Alibaba’s Taobao Livestream registering three hundred million users in 2021 and earning over $323 billion in GMV sales, the industry earned more than $400 billion in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) sales in China alone.
In a similar vein, social commerce is gathering steam across the continent of Africa.’The social commerce industry in Africa and the Middle East is predicted to increase by 70.3 per cent every year to grow to $8,903.7 million in 2022,’ states the Q1 2022 Social Commerce Survey.
Additionally, it is anticipated that the “social commerce GMV would climb from $8,903.7 million in 2022 to get to $13,337.2 million by 2028,” which is an increase from the previous year’s figure of $8,903.7 million.
Designed on a unified infrastructure that supports both live streaming and online shopping, Penda will offer merchants a comprehensive range of business solutions, from the initial configuration of their stores to payment processing, fulfilment, inventory control, and data analytics and also access to the necessary financing to purchase goods from Chinese manufacturers and suppliers and have them shipped.
Customers will have the opportunity to engage in live conversations with industry influencers and business owners, and they will also have access to daily discount vouchers for various businesses, including restaurants, hotels, movie theatres, and more.
Since its start in 2020, the teleshopping operation, ShopEX owned and operated by Response Architect, has brought in more than $2.5 million in revenue. However, Chief Executive Isi Abebe views live streaming as a chance to pivot the TV purchasing paradigm and boost market share for the young generation of entrepreneurs and mobile users.
We were able to capitalize on this opportunity since we were aware that many sellers were looking for fresh approaches to selling their products through the usage of video content and interacting with their clients. We envision Penda as the coming together of social networking with online shopping, which will bring about a significant shift in how people shop on the African continent. Isi Abebe said.
Daniel Jiang, General Manager for the Middle East and Africa at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence & Head of International Hybrid Cloud Business Development, made the following statement in response to a question on the exclusive arrangement with Penda: We are delighted to work together with Response Architects to facilitate the growth of the digital economy, in the continent.
Chris Folayan, who was once the Chief Executive Officer of Mall for Africa, serves as an advisor to the company and early-stage investors in the business, including HAVAIC SA, Expert Media Partners, and Echo VC.
