EXPERT FORESEES GROWTH POTENTIAL IN E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA
quoted the CEO Jumia Nigeria, Juliet Anammah, in her article for the UNCTAD in October 2018, where she noted that “the reach of digital platforms can no longer be contained and captured by a small group to the exclusion of others. The primary means by which digital drives inclusion is via providing accessible information on products, services and price as well as connecting buyers and sellers who may never have connected through traditional channels.”
Wawira, advised Africans to successfully make in-roads in reaching and gaining the trust of rural consumers, e-commerce players must continuously remain innovative. She, however, said one such company piloting diverse strategies to reach and activate rural e-Commerce consumption was Jumia, operating in 14 African countries. According to her, 25 per cent of deliveries made by Jumia were in remote areas, in regions where choices for products are extremely limited for consumers.
The rise and growth of ecommerce in the world and primarily in Africa has created many business opportunities, not only in urban but also in rural areas. The growth has been exponential and has undoubtedly increased connectivity, reaching even the previously inaccessible remote villages across the continent and connecting them with e-commerce, according to e-commerce expert, Josephine Wawira.
According to her, over the past three years, the market has been noted to move substantially in the direction of developing logistics meant to tear down barriers for e-commerce penetration in rural markets. Consequently, online retailers can now reach customers in remote cities, while locals have access to a variety of products from major urban cities.
“While over 50 per cent of the world is now connected to the internet, only 36 per cent of the African population is, and even more poorly served are rural areas. This penetration rate is, however, increasing across Africa, and together with that of the mobile, which is now at about 80 per cent, represent a potentially major growth lever as well as a significant growth opportunity for e-commerce to serve this otherwise underserved demographic.
“With this in mind, it is important for e-commerce players to eliminate roadblocks that hinder the penetration of the rural economy,” Wawira said.
According to her, fulfilling the needs of the rural e-commerce consumer requires bespoke approaches, that will especially break the mistrust around online commerce. She cited instances where e-commerce players need to provide digital literacy programmes towards educating users around online purchase processes, and advised platforms to incorporate several local languages in the markets they operate in; which should also be the case for their customer service departments to drive better conversations and connection with the customers.
“Understanding local languages will also come in handy when carrying out ground activations for new customers and vendors looking to move their businesses online. Consumers with varying spending powers require provision for more diversified products to choose from, she added and
Microsoft has advised chief financial officers (CFOs) and Chief Operations Officers (COO) to embrace technology transformation being introduced into modern financial transactions. According to the company, the move was also to re-affirm its commitment to streamlining and enabling digital transformation in the financial services industry.
In partnership with Harvard Business Review, Microsoft hosted a round table with the view of educating and highlighting how advanced technologies can and have presented exceptional change to the financial industry.
The event, which was held in Lagos, was targeted at CFO and COO. It equally explored the state of the financial sector in Lagos and also provided insight into how CFOs and COOs have become an integral part of the decision-making and roll out processes of new innovative and advanced technologies in their organisations.
Financial Service Industry Director, Microsoft MEA MultiCountry Cluster - North, West, East and Southern Africa, Levant and Pakistan countries, Mr. Mayowa Agboade, explained that organisations must be aware of the ‘uncomfortable’ shift in roles that has presented itself in the face of digital change.
“The role of today’s CFOs and finance executives needs to be broader and requires an increased appreciation of technology. The emergence of the digital age is fundamentally changing the priorities and roles of today’s finance executives with security at its core.
“While traditional roles that involve cost reduction as well as sourcing new revenue streams remain at the core of the CFO and COO function, exploring new opportunities for growth has emerged to the fore. This disruption has been enabled through the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, mixed reality and block-chain.
“As with any industry, if you analyse the financial sector, the challenges present ‘bottlenecks’ to realising full potential output. Within financial services, there are inadequate tools for anticipating expanding business complexities, processes that are prone to error, growing threats, expanding risks and ever-increasing regulations. These are all causes for concern,” he said.
Speaking further, he said: “Some of the solutions made available for these issues come from applying technologies such as machine learning for revenue forecasting. Similarly, employing predictive analytics for risk management can help manage reputation and ultimately save costs.
“In order to remain competitive and foster an environment that is agile to the change brought about by digital transformation, finance executives have to lead their companies to reach goals around growth, profitability and productivity. This is important as they implement technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Cloud.”