The number of online shoppers in Africa has surged annually by 18% since 2014, according to a report by UNCTAD. As of 2019, the number of digital buyers in Africa experienced an increase to 233 million. The number of e-commerce users in the continent was projected to grow significantly in the next few years, according to a Statista forecast. In 2021, there might be some 334 million online shoppers in Africa. By 2024, there could be roughly 478 million, about double the number in 2019.
The most significant contributor to this surge in e-commerce is the rapid growth in smartphone penetration over the past decade in Africa and the shift in consumer-spend behaviour. They are turning more and more to online shopping for their goods. The payments infrastructure has also evolved to offer payments solutions that enable more consumers across Africa to participate in online shopping without a bank account.
The partnership between Cellulant and Link Commerce aims to break barriers between local and international commerce by addressing payment needs and enabling African consumers to shop directly from their favourite global stores using local payment options.
Link Commerce CEO Chris Folayan stated, “With a global surge in online sales, and travel restrictions, finding the right partner to enable our customer the ability to pay locally and via mobile payment platforms is important to us. We are excited to be partnering with Cellulant as we grow cross-border trade across Africa. Removing payment and delivery barriers by ensuring everyone can pay for and receive products directly from US/UK retailers via Link Commerce powered apps.”
Commenting on the partnership, Cellulant’s Acting CEO, Akshay Grover, stated, “In Africa, there are over 150 different payment channels, and in most cases, very fragmented for the consumers. Therefore any global retailer looking to reach African consumers needs to prioritise local payments such as mobile money into their strategy. Through our partnership with Link Commerce, we can connect consumers in two-thirds of the countries in Africa with global retailers on a single payments platform. Consumers can shop from US or UK retailers or any global businesses of their choice and pay easily with digital methods already familiar to them.’’
eCommerce platforms can leverage the partnership between Cellulant and ink Commerce to power trade and eCommerce activity to last mile-consumers. Retail platforms such as DHL eShop and Mall for Africa are some of the eCommerce businesses benefitting from this partnership.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Cellulant.
About Cellulant: Cellulant is a leading Pan-African financial technology company providing a one-stop digital payments platform. Cellulant uses technology to connect people and their resources, making it easier to do business across Africa. Cellulant provides a single digital payments platform - named Tingg- addressing the complex payments needs of businesses. Tingg makes it easy to collect and make payments across multiple payment methods in different currencies, with the best customer experience for any business looking to digitise their payments.
Today, Cellulant has an office presence in 18 African countries with a payment’s platform connecting thousands of businesses with 154 payment options across 35 countries. The platform powers payments for 220M consumers on a single inclusive network allowing for interoperability across Africa.
For further information contact: Andrew Lala media@cellulant.io
About Link Commerce: Established in 2016, Link Commerce is an award-winning eCommerce platform that enables buyers in emerging markets to shop from US/UK retailers without any stress, hassle or worries with payment and delivery. The Link Commerce patented product ensures customers can pay for and receive products locally from over 250 US/UK stores. Link Commerce is pioneering how global cross-border e-commerce trade excels in emerging markets by providing easy ways to pay and last-mile delivery charges. Link Commerce operates across various markets in Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Caribbean Islands and Russia.
For mor e information: Please email info@linkcommerce.com