Kenya Leads Africa in E-Commerce at 6% – UNCTAD

Kenyans love for E-commerce appears to be growing steadily after it emerged that 6 percent of all purchases made in 2017 came through E-Commerce.

The advent of online platforms and apps that enable Kenyans to order for goods and services has greatly enhanced the E-commerce in the country.

According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, despite the low levels of e-commerce in Kenya, the country is leading the continent alongside South Africa and Nigeria.

Africa, according to UNCTAD is still lagging behind compared to other Western Europe where E-Commerce accounts for 75 percent of all purchases.

The Secretary General of UNCTAD, Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, said that African countries can do better. “With about 300 million smartphones, E-Commerce has the potential to grow economies and also market local productions,” he said.

According to Dr. Kituyi, adequate regulation and political goodwill will drive the E-Commerce growth going forward.

The Communications Authority of Kenya, together with Kenya National Bureau of Statistics revealed that about 27 percent of firms in Kenya sold their products online. According to the two bodies, 31.1 percent of the firms in Kenya could not sell their products online because the products were not suited for sale via the internet.

Kenya’s Mobile Penetration

Mobile penetration and subscription in Kenya has been attributed to the continuous growth of E-Commerce in the country. As at January 2018, mobile subscription in Kenya had hit 41 million, up from 40.2 million the previous year, a 1.9 percent growth.

Mobile penetration during the period rose to 90.4 percent up from 88.7 percent four months earlier. This, coupled with internet penetration which hit 112.7 percent according to the sector statistics from the Communications Authority of Kenya.