New York, US | Xinhua | The almost year-long COVID-19 pandemic is transforming the investment landscape, with multiple long-term trends picking up speed. And the world is set to become more digitalized, automated and sustainability-sensitive as life style and economy undergo profound changes, according to experts and investment advisors. DIGITALIZATION DEEPENS …
Read More »Africa urged to embrace e-commerce to accelerate trade
Lusaka, Zambia | Xinhua | A virtual import and export conference and exhibition opened Tuesday with the Zambian government urging African countries to embrace e-commerce in order to accelerate trade. The two-day event, hosted by the Zambian government in collaboration with the private sector, is a flagship networking platform aimed …
Read More »Sokowatch brings e-commerce to East Africa’s informal shopkeepers
A startup in East Africa has created a digital service that appeals to thousands of small shopkeepers across the region, while finding innovative ways to lend to the traditionally risky sector. African Business Magazine’s Tom Collins reports. While most of Africa’s well-known ventures into e-commerce have been designed to appeal to the …
Read More »Africa needs to increase internet penetration as COVID-19 disrupts trade condition, says UNECA
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | XINHUA | Much still needs to be done for Africa to increase internet penetration as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the continent’s trade and socioeconomic condition, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Tuesday. According to figures from the ECA, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia and South …
Read More »Kenya’s watchdog forecasts mergers in airline, e-commerce sectors amid COVID-19
Kampala, Uganda | XINHUA | Kenya’s competition watchdog said Thursday it is anticipating mergers and acquisitions in the airline and e-commerce sectors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on Thursday. Mugambi Mutegi, manager of communication and external relations, Competition Authority of Kenya, told a webinar in Nairobi …
Read More »African e-commerce firms get coronavirus boost
Dakar, Senegal | AFP | Seydou Sall sprays antiseptic on bags of food freshly deposited by an e-commerce firm at his home in an upmarket quarter of Senegal’s capital Dakar. In a pattern repeated across the continent, the researcher has turned to online deliveries to get basics such as sugar, milk …
Read More »UNDP, Jumia partner to link market vendors with consumers online
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A new e-commerce platform has been launched to boost online trading in markers amid restrictions on movement and social distancing guidelines instituted as part of the measures to curtail transmission of coronavirus disease. The platform, a brainchild of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) …
Read More »E-Commerce eats into Black Friday, now a shadow of its former self in US
‘Black Friday’ becoming a shadow of its former self in US New York, United States | AFP | The US holiday shopping season officially opened with a deluge of “Black Friday” promotions but the frenzied crowds of the past have thinned out with the rise of e-commerce. Companies in the …
Read More »‘It is the right time for e-commerce’
Kampala, Uganda | JULIUS BUSINGE | Ron Kawamara is Jumia Uganda’s new Chief Executive Officer. He spoke to The Independent’s Julius Businge about his strategy and related online developments. What are the reasons behind Jumia’s success story in Uganda? We have been growing because of our best prices in the market. …
Read More »Google still under fire over EU anti-trust violations
Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Rivals to Google urged the EU on Wednesday to keep up its fight against the search engine giant, saying proposals by the firm to avoid more EU mega-fines fell short. EU Competition Commissioner Margarethe Vestager in June slapped Google with a record 2.4-billion-euro (more than $2.7 …
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