Bestaccountingsoftware.com has in a recent article made a list of the most profitable African countries for online business. According to the platform, Mauritius, Tunisia, South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Kenya, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Zambia, Angola, and Uganda are “the best countries to set up an online business” on the continent.

These countries were selected based on several criteria, including, among others, the average mobile and fixed Internet speed; the percentage of the population that uses social networks, purchases or pays online, uses a mobile means of payment, or holds a bank account; the diversity of national and international e-payment means; economic freedom; the time it takes to set up a business; postal development.

According to the market and consumer data provider Statista, the e-commerce segment in Africa will weigh $24.759 million in 2021. With an annual growth rate of 13.3%, the amount could reach $40.758 million by 2025. Statista said with the impetus given to the segment by the Covid-19 pandemic, figures could even exceed previsions.

The digital transformation in Africa has made e-commerce a significant empowering opportunity for youth looking for a stable professional status. In its reviewed African Economic Outlook 2020, the African Development Bank said about 773.4 million Africans were employed in 2019, a figure that, according to pre-Covid estimates, was expected to rise to 792.7 million in 2020. But due to the pandemic, "25 to 30 million jobs could be lost."

Muriel Edjo