Focused on quality

On November 24, 2015, Amanbo, in partner with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), the country’s largest business organization, launched the Kenya-china Import and Export E-commerce Platform in Nairobi. Amanbo signed a strategic cooperation agreement with KNCCI, which is aimed at ensuring strict scrutiny of quality of import and export products for both sides.

Cameroonian Kennas Kiamba, a frequent user of Amanbo, has placed numerous orders of wigs and clothes on the platform over the years for sales across the continent. He does not worry at all about the quality of the products he purchases, mainly because he was able to get his hands on samples beforehand at the exhibition hall.

Liao employs strict quality controls throughout his e-commerce platform operation. “Don’t produce low-quality products, because it is a road to nowhere,” he said.

“Amanbo is an e-commerce platform primarily designed for wholesalers in African markets, because many African countries still lack an efficient logistics system, and it is now too difficult to follow the B2C (business to consumer) business model,” Chen Fan, Manager with Amanbo’s Department of Investment, told Chinafrica.

With the development of logistics and Internet in Africa, Amanbo is planning to develop a dedicated B2C platform in certain African countries in the next few years, but only if conditions are ripe, said Chen.

In a keynote speech at the 2014 World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja, Nigeria, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said China will encourage Chinese enterprises to explore new opportunities for e-commerce cooperation with Africa in accordance with market principles so as to make it easier for the continent to enjoy the convenience of information sharing and big data, as do other regions around the world.

As the number of registered users increases, along with the rapid construction of overseas outlets and warehouses, Amanbo is getting more and more Chinese and African merchants to enjoy the convenience of international e-commerce.

“I hope that our cross-border e-commerce platform can bring more opportunities for China-africa trade, while playing a bigger role in promoting the transformation and upgrading of traditional trade,” said Liao.

Comments to cuixiaoqin@chinafrica.cn