The internet is currently integrated in the lives of people in the African continent, as it has availed tools for communication, information and entertainment. The scope of its influence in Africa doesn’t differ in significance when compared to other continents in many aspects, except one, e-commerce. Trading on the internet has led the way for years now and has been fully embraced, an example being the unwavering and loyal market that has embraced the biggest online company Alibaba in Asia. That has to change and online business has to embraced in Africa, especially in Kenya, according to The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi.
Speaking at the e-commerce week which will end on Friday, UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi noted that the presence of Africa online can’t be debated, “It may be true that today there are 21 million Africans buying services online…It may be true that every month 134 million Africans are visiting Facebook,” he said. However, he said there are virtually no services being sold online from Africa of a significant nature, “That African produce in the villages in the communities in the women groups that are producing have no electronic market visibility.”
Online business is the way forward for virtually every business, and branches of business like marketing and business networking have taken root in social media, and for Kenya to prosper in the region, domestic trade must be boosted within online circles with the state taking steps to ensure this is enabled. During the same conference, President Kenyatta affirmed that for Africa to benefit from e-commerce and the digital economy the policy environment has to be conducive. That indeed should be followed up by necessary action.