Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya Lead in E-commerce in Sub-Saharan Africa

A new research conducted by Visa has shown that Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are the largest e-commerce contributors in Africa in the last three years.

In the report titled ‘Visa Research Reveals SA, Nigeria and Kenya Are Top Drivers of E-commerce Volumes in SSA’, said Ghana was also showing signs of growth after replacing Kenya in the top three contributors in 2020.

The report noted that while Sub-Saharan Africa might be one of the smallest regions of e-commerce globally, it showed consistent growth potential.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the region’s new e-commerce users grew by 5 percent when compared to the active base in the preceding year.

The report said, “The most important e-commerce enablers – the ability to access financial services, digital payment channels and digital infrastructure – are starting to take hold across SSA.

“Although cash may remain the dominant payment instrument in the region for now, there are signs that this will eventually change.

“In Nigeria, for example, cash is still particularly prevalent, while in Kenya mobile money is most popular and many South Africans choose cards as their main payment methods.”

The COVID-19 pandemic had pushed consumers towards digital payments in the key e-commerce markets for SSA, it stated.

Lineshree Moodley, the Head of Visa Consulting and Analytics in Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “The three leading markets in SSA are starting to mature, providing the region with an established foundation and, when twinned with the growing penetration of e-commerce, it offers players in the payment space an opportunity they can capitalise on while helping to further accelerate the expansion of e-commerce in the region.”