eCommerce & the Cloud in Africa: Shein, Wish, Alibaba & Amazon Web Services
One of the many things that make my heart flutter is eCommerce. Never tell me if you intend to fly to Kenya from China or the U.S. I’m the friend that will load your bags down with frivolous items ordered to Amazon or Taobao (淘宝). And, I’ll have the nerve to swear that I desperately need them all!
(Technically…no one NEEDS a pineapple-shaped phone case, but I have one and feel my life has been made better by it)
Recently, I was discussing China’s eCommerce landscape with the marketing director of a Chinese eCommerce startup in Kenya. He cited JianDong, Alibaba, and Pinduoduo as the three biggest drivers behind eCommerce in China. To which I replied something to the effect of, ‘it’s hard to compare to any other eCommerce ecosystem’.
‘Right,’ he said…China’s eCommerce journey could not be replicated anywhere else because ‘the conditions are just different’. In his mind, the goal was to borrow lessons learned from China’s eCommerce experiences and adapt that model to further his company’s growth in Africa.
(more on this specific discussion, interview, and insights in a few weeks! I’m über excited to talk about it!!!! )
This moment got me thinking about what eCommerce in Africa, what the ecosystem might look like in the future, and lessons I’ve learned as an obsessive online shopper across three different Continents.
Right now there are all these super interesting moments happening in Africa’s eCommerce sector. The nuggets that stand out to me are:
- Amazon announced that it’d be building a $280 million Africa headquarters in South Africa last month, with 80% of the job openings at this new slated for Amazon Web Services (AWS) (from Techcabal).
- A number of eCommerce startups in Africa received a bunch of funding in 2020. Most importantly, Sky. Garden, (whose Managing Director, Issac Hunja, was nice enough to answer a few questions for me).
But at the same time
- Shein, Wish & Alibaba are growing in popularity among youths in African countries
- Cainiao announced that it’d be opening up a direct flight allowing them to get products to customers in Africa faster than ever
All of these moments seem a bit disconnected, but in reality, they perfectly align with one another. To learn more about this check out my most recent video: Ecommerce & the Cloud in Africa: Shein, Wish, Alibaba, Sky. Garden & Amazon Web Services.
Watch it here: https://youtu.be/H05WKJXtRcI
