Grace Ashiru
According to a report by Business Insider, the multinational e-commerce and technology corporation Amazon intends to extend its operations to many African nations beginning in 2023, including South Africa and Nigeria.
The large online retailer wants to enter five more markets shortly, and documents that have been leaked show Belgium, Chile, and Colombia would be three of those markets.
According to the document, Belgium, Chile, and Colombia are three of the five markets that Amazon plans to enter next.
TechEconomy.ng found out that the rollouts would likely happen between 2022 and 2023.
As a direct consequence of this change, e-commerce platforms such as Konga, Jumia, Takelot, and Jumia will be subject to intense levels of competition.
Amazon is currently in 20 countries and wants to expand in the United States, which is its main market.
Project Fela, also known by its code name South Africa, is scheduled to begin operations in February of 2023 as well. The opening of Nigeria’s marketplace is scheduled for April 2023. According to the document that was found online, “Project Fela is a codename used for both South Africa and the project.”
The first project, “Project Red Devil,” will begin in Belgium in September 2022. The “Project Salsa” marketplace in Colombia will open in February 2023. It will have the same name as the one in Chile. On the other hand, the project in Chile will start on April 20.
As stated in the documents, all countries intend to construct their markets and utilize Amazon’s fulfilment service, known as Fulfillment by Amazon.
The Cable reports that the Amazon Prime membership program will initially be available to customers in Belgium, while customers in other countries will wait.
According to the source, customers buying in Belgium would have access to their very own specialized premier service, which will result in more stable prices and an improved overall shopping experience. “Customers from Belgium may have already been enrolled in Amazon Prime via one of the company’s other European websites.
Following the release of Covid-19, the firm experienced a decline in revenue. This new development will, in addition to making room for additional expansion, work toward regaining everything that was lost due to the epidemic. This year, the company has been cutting back on the number of employees it employs, subleasing warehouse space, and limiting the expansion of its transportation network in preparation for unexpected slowdowns.
Amazon is also in the process of constructing an HQ in South Africa for its activities in Africa. Nonetheless, there were hiccups in the process due to a complaint made by a local community in the country that an international technology company had not acquired the land on which it was planned to be built by the appropriate protocols.
