"Mobile first" strategy boosts e-commerce. This highly lucrative activity is set to explode in Africa thanks to the widespread use of smartphones. Recently published indicators confirm this trend.
This highly lucrative activity is set to explode in Africa thanks to the widespread use of smartphones. Recently published indicators confirm this trend.
The report "Payments and E-commerce in Africa 2024", published by Nikulipe, a Lithuania-based fintech specializing in cross-border payments in emerging markets, indicates that Africa's e-commerce market size is expected to grow from $30.71 billion in 2024 to $45.72 billion in 2028, representing a 48.88% increase over four years.
According to the same report, 40% of the continent’s population is expected to buy goods and services online by 2025, up from 24% in 2020 and just 13% in 2017. The number of African online shoppers is projected to reach 519.8 million by 2025, compared to 281 million in 2020, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of approximately 17%.
The rise of online commerce is driven by the large proportion of young people in the general population, the increasing penetration of smartphones and mobile internet, and the growing adoption of digital payment methods such as mobile money.
"Mobile First" Approach
The growing adoption of mobile phones, particularly smartphones, plays a key role in the growth of e-commerce in Africa. Mobile phone penetration is steadily increasing, though it still varies from region to region, and even country to country. Mobile adoption reached almost 100% in Gabon, Morocco, Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritius, and Eswatini in 2021.
As smartphone prices continue to decrease, more Africans are expected to transition from basic phones to smart devices. The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) estimates that there will be over 1.2 billion smartphones in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030, representing an 88% adoption rate.
Additionally, the report notes that the number of active internet users in Africa is projected to increase from 570 million in 2022 to over 890 million by 2028. Africa already leads the world in mobile internet usage.
