As the world becomes more attuned to online buying, Kenya is determined not to be left behind. Commenting on this trend in September 2013, we reported that Kenya was “not only taking part in the eCommerce industry, but it is flourishing and growing rapidly every day.”

Now, a year and a half later, Paysure has rated Kenya as second in the list of the top seven countries predicted for technology and eCommerce growth in the region, after Senegal. Kenya Business Review reports that the country now has more than 22 million internet users – more than double the number online just four years ago – and there are now 31.8 million mobile phone subscribers.

eCommerce is also predicted to grow rapidly in Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, not just for products, but also for travel and hospitality. eCommerce businesses are thriving and developing in Egypt, Tanzania, and Cameroon.

The eCommerce platforms, and apps which are taking a firm hold of the market across the region, are being led by Jumia of Nigeria, which now also has a major presence in Kenya.

Two years ago, Jumia was eyeing Kenya’s growing eCommerce sector. Today, they are one of Kenya’s leading online shopping destinations, allowing shopping for the widest assortment of high quality products and services at affordable prices.

Jumia operates in Egypt, Morocco, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Uganda, United Kingdom, Nigeria, Ghana, and Cameroon.

eCommerce Greats in Kenya

According to Qube, a Digital Media agency, the future of eCommerce in Kenya is developing rapidly.

“In our opinion it is something that Kenyan companies should utilize”, they stated, adding: “In the past, companies that wanted to sell their products online faced a major hurdle in the form of payment platforms.” This, however, has changed dramatically. There are now local payment platforms that have integrated payment methods that work for and in Kenya. These payment platforms allow users to:

• Accept payments from all over the world, especially from within Kenya
• Make payments using mobile money, debit and credit cards
• Buy tickets
• Pay for services
• Track payments made and received

In addition to Jumia, there are a variety of other major eCommerce platforms that are dominating the region, such as:

Konga– Nigeria: Priding itself as being Nigeria’s largest online mall, it recently also became the first African eCommerce website and first Nigerian company to be verified by Facebook. The website is an online shopping destination, offering visitors a catalogue of 200,000 products that span a range of categories including phones, computers, clothing, shoes, home appliances, books, and baby products.

iROKING – Nigeria: iROKING, Nigeria’s number one online music platform, brings Nigerian music lovers some of the biggest artists of today, direct to their Android phones. Users are able to download unlimited tracks directly on their mobile device and keep up-to-date with Nigeria’s freshest music and videos.

BidorBuy – South Africa: Launched in 1999, bidorbuy.co.za is marketed as Africa’s largest online marketplace. The emphasis of this marketplace is on product variety within numerous categories that cover all aspects of the modern lifestyle.

OLX – South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria: The newest player in the online classifieds area. OLX launched their mobile app earlier this year empowering users with the functionality to search local classifieds in their respective countries, reply to listings, and post ads for free with just a few simple taps.

Kalahari – South Africa: Kalahari.com considers itself to be South Africa’s largest and most popular online shopping center, providing users with access to books, gadgets, homeware, appliances, toys, and music, all of which is available on the shopping website. According to the site, there are more than 8 million items that visitors can choose from using the search bar.

Mpayer – Kenya: While not a conventional eCommerce application, it does facilitate eCommerce in Kenya. The app allows users to keep track of payments made through Kenya’s highly-successful M-PESA mobile money service and to “monitor payments to different branches and departments.”

DealDey – Nigeria: Launched in March 2011, DealDey features a daily deal on the best things to do, see, eat, and buy in Lagos and Abuja – similar to international deal site Groupon. The website does not have a mobile app, but it does have a fairly comprehensive mobile website. DealDey has also grown exponentially over the last two years with its user base increasing from 100,000 last year to more than 500,000 in March, 2015.

For more information on worldwide shopping and online payments, contact us at 3G Direct Pay, today.