![[Africa Tech Review] Duncan Mochama: E-commerce is a potential gold mine for women in Africa](Images/Key Persons/DuncanMochama-IncentroAfrica.JPG)
[Africa Tech Review] Duncan Mochama: E-commerce is a potential gold mine for women in Africa
Africa’s e-commerce market could grow by more than $14.5 billion between 2025-2030. This is according to an IFC report published this week.
The report found that this can be achieved by increasing the number of women selling on online platforms and by providing them with better training and financial support to help them match sales made by men. The report, Women, and e-commerce in Africa found that COVID-19 has accelerated the growth of e-commerce and digital entrepreneurship in Africa and that more women have embraced digital business.
This is not the only story we covered on women this week. In Botswana, the country became the first in Southern Africa, and the third in Africa, to pilot drone technology for healthcare delivery to reduce preventable maternal deaths by delivering maternal health supplies and commodities to women.
On matters fintech, this week, Mastercard announced a partnership with Telda, to launch a digital money transfer app. Telkom Kenya also announced that customers will now be able to make payments on the eCitizen platform using T-kash after the financial services platform wsd integrated into the government digital services platform. Kenyan fintech firm Kwara was also among the twenty startups, with eleven from Africa, selected to join the Norrsken Impact Accelerator. Nigerian fintech startup Flutterwave partnered with Ethiopia’s mobile Digital Wallet platform, Amole, to facilitate money transfer into Ethiopia. Inflow partnered with Mono to transform personal finance management in Nigeria.
One of the other biggest news this week was Ethiopia’s telecommunications regulator awarding an operating licence to a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom and Japan's Sumitomo. What this means is that Safaricom, a partner member of the Vodafone Group, will establish a new operating company in Ethiopia which aims to start providing telecommunications services from 2022. At the same time, Ethio Telecom launched a Tier III-ready modular data center in Ethiopia. Powered by Huawei, the data center is located in the Gola Sefer district of the capital, Addis Ababa.
In Kenya, Safaricom and Huawei announced the trial of an innovative new solution for restaurants, “Scan & Order” to help restaurants digitize their menu and ordering systems. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) also announced that it is making final touches on the review of children and local content programming guidelines.
In Tanzania, Mondia Pay and M-Pesa this week partnered to allow Tanzanians to conveniently access Mondia’s leading suite of online content on the Vodacom Tanzania PLC digital services network. In Egypt, Inertia and EFG Hermes’ NBFI subsidiaries - PayTabs Egypt and valU, the buy-now pay-later platform (BNPL), entered into an arrangement that will allow Inertia’s clients to process payments online.
Carrier-neutral data center infrastructure provider iColo this week announced the construction of its third data center in Kenya to be located in Nyali, Mombasa. Media streaming and download service Boomplay and Hitlab, a digital media and entertainment company also launched a new competition targeting emerging artists across Africa.
Other highlights of the week include Mastercard appointing Victor Ndlovu as Director, Country Business Development Lead for East Africa, and HP Inc. launching its new, comprehensive, digital teaching and learning programme, HP Digitally Advanced Schools, in key markets in the Middle East and Africa.
Duncan Mochama is the solutions consultant at Incentro Africa.
