Denis Opudo
A report released by Disrupt Africa stated that the African e-commerce market is on a rapid growth with the number of startups getting to the market increasing annually to get to a total of 264 ventures operating all over Africa. However, the report also says that more than 70% of the startups are non-profitable and the funding of the e-commerce has been unreliable as it takes long before the investors realize their profits.
The funding of African startups went down in 2016. However, much there is hope that the startups are ready to come to life again in 2017, the available funding is unevenly distributed with only 10% of the funds raised goes to more than 30 countries with the larger percentage going to only five countries in the continent.
Nigeria stands out as the leading e-commerce country in Africa with 40% of the Africa’s e-commerce startups located in the country. South Africa and Kenya follow Nigeria at position two and three respectively. As much as Africa provides a good market for e-commerce ventures with an increase in the online marketplace, however, the companies face a big challenge to survive.
The most encouraging part of the report is the fact that Nigeria is leading in the e-commerce venture in Africa. Nigeria’s ability to lead gives the true picture of the role of entrepreneurs in the industry. The research gives Nigeria the best platform to be the first African country to take online marketing to the European countries markets. There is also a great hope in the South Africa and Kenyan e-commerce ventures.
