Africa remains an enigmatic paradox: a continent rich in mineral resources yet so desperately poor.
This hardly comes as a surprise as Africa is the most economically ‘unfree continent’. For instance, no African country is classified among the top 20 by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal’s 2023 Index of Economic Freedom as “free.”
However, darling Africa has always been the target of the entire world, either for its vast economic opportunities, population and natural resources.
Over time, a problem seems to have bamboozled, dribbled, and consistently ‘poke fun’ at the policymakers and political leaders alike!
This calls for the unification of the people and economy of Africa and progressive repackaging of it good to the world, whilst getting the best value for trade.
Although, in this respect, many regional economic communities (REC) have been formed, African Continental Free Trade Agreement AfCFTA has been its nadir.
In the light of this supposed gloominess, Zandaux, is at the cusp of bringing a positive disruptive, permanent solution, through its trail blazing, path-finding and audacious vision of “one Africa, one market” through the Business to Business medium.
Mr. Franck Obambi Ngatse, Zandaux, Chairman and CEO, noted that he embarked on the journey with one single goal. How to bring African production on one single platform to make sure that it doesn’t matter where anyone produced from, the entire African market would be able to access the goods and services. That is bringing African factories and markets closely and directly to the people.
The Brazzaville-born, Globe throttling and serial entrepreneur notes that, the best time to address Africa’s critical problem of market disintegration is now.
To him, Zandaux envisioned a border-less; less stressful market that would give consumer access to the African market, empower African businesses to have an idea of assuming the economy of scale and reaching a bigger market.
According to Mr. Gabriel Idahosa, the president / chairman of Council Lagos Chamber of Commerce, “By 2030, more than 75% of the workforce in Africa and globally will be made up of millennial. They will be digital-minded and grew up with e-commerce as their go-to channel for purchases. On the other side, in Asia and America, almost 70% of all B2B sales are made through e-commerce while Europe is very much lower at about 20%.
Sadly, this is not the case in Africa, as 7% of all purchases in South Africa were made online, the highest share of e-commerce retail; followed by Nigeria and Kenya with 6% and 4% percent, while Egypt and Morocco accounted for a paltry 3% three percent and 2% of the total retail, respectively.
The Africa B2B market penetration seems not to be in consonance neither it resonates with the World Economic Forum 2030 projection, which indicates that young Africans are expected to constitute 42% of global youth population.
The implication is that “Africa as an economy has long been a reservoir of untapped economic potential, and the time has come for us to harness the power of B2B ecommerce to unlock new opportunities.
To Idahosa, Zandaux, is an innovative platform with the lofty goal of creating ‘One Africa, One Market does not only signify the trajectory of B2B E-commerce, but also set the pace for “The Future of B2B Commerce in Africa”
B2B (business -to business), a type of electronic commerce (e-commerce), is the exchange of products, services or information between businesses, rather than between businesses and consumers (B2C). A B2B transaction is conducted between two companies, such as wholesalers and retailers.
The B2B market is also attracting big players from other sectors eyeing opportunities in Africa and the Middle East’s social commerce industry.
It is estimated to have grown its revenue by 70% in 2022 reaching $8.9billion forecast to reach $13.3billion by 2028
Globally, B2B commerce is undergoing profound transformations. Traditional sales models are rapidly declining and the majority of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers are shifting to digital platforms.
In the coming decade, no goods or services will be sold without a digital shop, buy or self-service option.
Businesses will therefore be required to undergo unprecedented levels of digital transformation in order to radically change how they attract and retain customers, market their products, operate within supply chains, and provide services.
Importantly, B2B and B2C have similar high expectations for e-commerce. Many online purchasing processes in Africa are still disorganized.
According to iO, an European consulting firm, “Half of all B2B e-commerce platforms fail to buyer expectations. Even more alarming, 94% of B2B buyers encounter customer experience problems online.
Examples include unclear navigation, problems with checkout, or a platform that is not optimized for mobile use.
Many organizations do not yet see B2B e-commerce as the primary channel. All these must be tackled. It requires a completely different approach and a shift in the organization, not only in terms of technology, but also in terms of teamwork and the use of marketing and communication. It requires the efforts of all stakeholders dealing with these issues in a smart way.
In other words, the technology that we have now and will need in the future must not get in the way of the steps the organization needs to take.
Armed with the proper understanding of problems bedeviling the African B2B landscape, and having experimented with solutions with corresponding outstanding results from across Africa, platforms like Zandaux offers align perfectly and properly pose with the global trends of increased digitalization and interconnected economies.
Author
