Cellulant, a Pan-African payments company, has partnered with Link Commerce, a B2B eCommerce platform, to avail relevant digital payment options to consumers in Africa. The partnership aims to make it possible for consumers to purchase goods directly from global retailers online.
According to a report by UNCTAD, the number of online shoppers in Africa has surged annually by 18% since 2014. As of 2019, the number of digital buyers in Africa increased to 233 million. The number of e-commerce users in the continent was also 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. 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.
Speaking on the partnership, 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 and 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. 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.’’
Retail platforms such as DHL eShop and Mall for Africa are some of the eCommerce businesses benefitting from this partnership.