
New Policies Can Ignite Online Trade, Economic Growth and Inclusion
15 July 2021, London: The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the GSMA today called on Central Africa's 11 governments to adopt policies to accelerate e-commerce, including better access to digital services and public-private collaboration.
Mobile internet use in Central Africa more than doubled in the past decade to 42% at the end of 2019. Women and entrepreneurs increasingly use e-commerce platforms to grow their businesses, according to the joint GSMA-ECA report titled Enabling e-commerce in Central Africa: the role of mobile services and policy implications . The report makes the potential for economic development and social inclusion clear.
E-commerce is growing quickly in Central Africa and mobile connectivity and payments are key to gaining momentum. By the end of 2020, there were 16 live mobile money services in ECCAS[1], serving nearly 50 million registered accounts.
The report shows that while the retail e-commerce landscape is dominated by global players, such as Amazon, eBay and Alibaba, domestic and regional players are leveraging local knowledge to compete. Jumia, is an example of this and is Africa's largest e-commerce company with operations in 11 countries across the continent.
Insights from the report outline how social commerce, the use of social networks for e-commerce, is also gaining traction. Facebook's 14 million users in the sub-region make an attractive marketplace and the preferred platform for many e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Despite this progress, all 11 countries in Central Africa are falling behind when compared to their peers. The infrastructure, investment and skills necessary to fuel online shopping rank in the bottom third of the UN Conference on Trade and Development's Business-to-Consumer E-commerce Index of 152 countries.
The report makes clear that mobile telecom operators are a vital part of the solution. They provide connectivity for online activities, including e-commerce, enable digital payments and, support e-commerce by way of APIs and sales agents to address challenges in the sector.
Central Africa is budding with economic potential and e-commerce can accelerate that growth, said Angela Wamola, the GSMA's Head of Sub Sahara Africa. The GSMA is proud to partner with the ECA on this report bringing our knowledge of how digital technologies can propel sustainable development to the work. We hope it will inspire action from policymakers and stakeholders in the region.
In Central Africa, as many as 264 e-commerce start-ups operate in at least 23 countries. The employment potential is significant with online marketplaces are set to generate 3 million jobs by 2025.
The region can progress quickly if governments enact policies to accelerate digital and e-commerce services, specifically:
Enhance digital and financial inclusion
Take the right approach to data regulation
Address key challenges in the business environment
Leverage stakeholder collaboration
Mobile network operators must play a critical role to accelerate digital inclusion, economic diversification and sustainable development, said Antonio Pedro, Director of ECA's Sub-regional Office for Central Africa. If governments act now, Central Africa can be more competitive and collaborative for the benefit and inclusion of all citizens.
Please click to download the report here: Enabling e-commerce in Central Africa: the role of mobile services and policy implications
-ENDS-
About GSMA
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with almost 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Africa, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the M360 Series of regional conferences. For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.
About ECA
ECA's current mandate is to promote economic and social development of its member States by delivering cutting-edge ideas and prompting action for an empowered and transformed Africa; informed by the 2030 Agenda and African Union's Agenda 2063. The Commission's special focus in Central Africa is to foster economic diversification and structural transformation for inclusive and sustainable development. To achieve this, ECA helps countries and regional economic communities (RECs) in the sub-region formulate and implement relevant policies and strategies with the view to sustainably expanding the contribution of the manufacturing and high-value service sectors to GDP and increasing the share of tradeable and manufactured goods in total exports; deepening regional value chains; and improving the competitiveness and productivity of local economies.
Media contacts:
GSMA Press Office:
pressoffice@gsma.com
For ECA:
Abel Akara Ticha, Communication Officer
Tel: +237 222504348
E-mail: akara@un.org
[1] Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe
Like what you read? Share.
More from GSMA
26/03/2024
GSMA welcomes CITIC Telecom, Huawei and ZTE as Channel Partners
26 March 2024, Beijing: China's three leading mobile operators - China Mobile, China Telec...
26/03/2024
At the Post-MWC Sharing Event in Beijing, leaders from the GSMA contextualised t...
20/03/2024
A new digital infrastructure framework that fosters investment, innovation, and ...
19/03/2024
New GSMA report finds mobile money is fueling economic growth and expansion of financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa.
19 March 2024, London: Mobile money ...
12/03/2024
NEW YORK, MARCH 12, 2024 - The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF), a five...
04/03/2024
MWC Barcelona brought together connectivity leaders from 205 countries and territories, exploring industry topics including AI, the usage gap, GSMA Open Gateway...
28/02/2024
Industry opportunities driven by developments in 5G Standalone, 5G-Advanced, ent...
27/02/2024
The GSMA Equipment Marketplace cloud-based platform will help telecommunication ...
27/02/2024
The GSMA's 2024 Mobile Net Zero report spotlights regional leaders in cuttin...
27/02/2024
Six-time and reigning African Women's Footballer of the Year uses MWC Barcel...
26/02/2024
Deutsche Telekom, O2 Telef nica and Vodafone are launching SIM Swap and Number V...
26/02/2024
More than 40 mobile operator networks across five continents have now commercial...
26/02/2024
MWC Barcelona 2024 welcomes the most iconic names in connectivity for nine keyno...
26/02/2024
New phase of the strategic partnership to support GSMA Mobile for Development...
22/02/2024
Telecommunications operators Cell C, MTN, and Telkom welcome launch of two unive...
22/02/2024
Jakarta, 22 February 2024. As part of the global GSMA Open Gateway initiative, f...
06/02/2024
Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone will open their mobile networks to developers w...
25/01/2024
Speakers include leaders from Accenture, Dell Technologies, Microsoft and the United Nations; as well as Nobel Prize laureate, Sir Konstantin Sergeevich Novosel...
15/12/2023
Spectrum decisions at the ITU's World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 clear the path for a bright digital future for billions worldwide
15th December 2...
11/12/2023
Applications for the GSMA's Humanitarian Innovation Fund, which has distributed over £5 million since 2017, are now open to start-ups, SMEs and social enter...
08/12/2023
The new report from the GSMA, published at its Indonesia Digital Nations Summit ...
05/12/2023
The GSMA celebrates the start of proceedings with the publication of its annual ...
28/11/2023
With this initiative, Claro, TIM, and Vivo will open their networks to developer...
23/11/2023
The GSMA's annual European Mobile Economy Report shows that mobile contribut...
09/11/2023
New GSMA Intelligence research reveals mobile spectrum costs in Indonesia have r...
17/10/2023
The GSMA shared the findings of its annual Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa Rep...
11/10/2023
The GSMA's sixth annual State of Mobile Internet Connectivity Report includes several first-time pieces of global and regional analysis, including the numbe...
09/10/2023
Secure your spot and register today to attend MWC Kigali, 17-19 October 2023
9 October 2023, London: The GSMA is delighted to announce that His Excellency Pau...
29/09/2023
The 2023 edition of GSMA MWC Las Vegas saw a rise in attendees from vertical ind...
26/09/2023
5G set to become the dominant mobile technology in North America by the end of 2...
18/09/2023
World's largest and most influential connectivity event also exceeded pre-ev...
16/09/2023
The GSMA's eighth SDG impact report, published at the halfway point to the 2...
07/09/2023
The annual conference opens with the launch of the GSMA's Digital Societies in Asia Pacific Report
7 September 2023, Seoul: The GSMA M360 APAC event return...
07/09/2023
M360 GSMA
2023 9 7 , : GSMA M360 APAC . KT . ...
27/07/2023
Registration is open for MWC Las Vegas press passes
27 July 2023, London: The G...
25/07/2023
However, despite 96% mobile broadband coverage across the region, barriers in ce...
24/07/2023
Asia Pacific to see tenfold rise in 5G mobile connections by 2030 as digital transformation gathers pace, GSMA report reveals
However, despite 96% mobile broad...
12/07/2023
New Collaboration Will Look to Accelerate Advancements in Satellite and Terrestrial Communications Network Integration
12 July 2023, OXFORDSHIRE: The GSMA and ...
30/06/2023
MWC Shanghai 2023 welcomed nearly 37,000 delegates from 115 countries and territ...
28/06/2023
MWC Shanghai convenes global leaders from the mobile ecosystem at the SNIEC to celebrate the first fully in-person iteration of the event since 2019
28 June 20...
27/06/2023
12 leading global operators and the GSMA agree pace-setting ambitions in the ind...
26/06/2023
Global initiative to help mobile industry, developers and cloud providers collaborate on development of universal network APIs now supported across all continen...
25/06/2023
25 June 2023, Shanghai: The GSMA today hosted a press conference ahead of MWC Sh...
31/05/2023
The sixth annual Mobile Gender Gap Report evaluates mobile ownership and mobile ...
19/05/2023
Brussels, London, 19 May 2023 - The GSMA and ETNO, industry associations represe...