e-Commerce in Africa: The Case of Nigeria

Abstract

Africa holds 15 % of world’s population with an across sector infrastructure investments average returns of 15 to 20%. The diverse location of people living within the continent makes intercity, interstate, or inter-country transactions difficult and where it does happens, comes with huge transaction cost. This creates a wide gap in Africa’s regional economy, resulting in wide spread of poverty, intra and inter regional conflicts within the continent. E-commerce provides a viable platform for bridging the gap in African economies. However, its adaptability and sustainability becomes a major concern. The level of development of e-commerce and its impact on the economy are analysed. Results show that e-commerce has made positive impact on the African economies but lack of trust on transactions within and from the continent is major challenge. Therefore, investment in e-commerce infrastructure in Africa (with more emphasis on Nigeria) will lead to rapid economic development within the continent.

Keywords

• Africa
• e-commerce index
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• internet
• software
• services