Here we share the latest research report from the International Trade Centre and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam on online marketplaces in Africa. It is expected that e-commerce in Africa can be a source of accelerated economic growth providing opportunities for small and large businesses. It is estimated that by 2022 the size of the e-commerce market in Africa will be around 22 billion, but data on local online platforms is difficult to obtain or incomplete. Therefore, the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Centre for Market Insights of the Amsterdam University of Applied sciences, have joined forces and conducted a broad inventory of the state of online platforms in Africa.

Africa Marketplace Explorer (online tool)
In April 2020, as part of this research, the Africa Marketplace Explorer was already launched during a webinar at the UNCTAD E-week 2020, which you can find here. This is an online analytical tool available to anyone where facts and figures on more than 630 online platforms active in Africa are visually mapped. Interested parties can interactively gain knowledge about the online platforms landscape in 58 African countries.

Mapping e-Marketplaces in Africa’ report
Based on data and analysis available in this Africa Marketplace Explorer, the research is complemented by data on Africa’s ecommerce ecosystem and case studies of Africa’s largest marketplaces in a comprehensive report. This report provides insights for both policy makers and entrepreneurs. Among the report’s conclusions; commerce is still on the rise in Africa – the continent’s 631 online marketplaces recorded 2.17 billion visits in 2019, just 8% of Amazon’s traffic. Only 10 countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria, account for 94% of all online business in Africa, while consumer traffic on online marketplaces in Africa fell 5% in 2017-19.

Researchers from the Centre for Market Insights who worked on this are: Jesse Weltevreden, Esther Mooiman, Selmar Meents and Sara Lone