eBay partners with MallForAfrica.com; opens African e-commerce to American sellers

eBay and MallforAfrica.com have partnered to give American eBay sellers access to Africa’s biggest consumer markets. The collaboration is set to go live in July 2016.

The partnership will launch a new “eBay Powered by MallforAfrica dedicated platform” said eBay Business Development Director Fernando Saiz.  “The platform will enable inventory from all eBay U.S. individual and business sellers with a 300 star to be purchased by buyers in Nigeria and Kenya”.

Sales on the start will begin “first in Nigeria, then Kenya, followed by Ghana, all in 2016”, commented Chris Folayan, CEO of MallforAfrica. He also mentioned that additional African countries will follow.

“We are creating a unique ‘eBay Powered by MallforAfrica’ app to run on all our platforms. When buyers in Africa shop with this app, they’ll be able to shop on eBay, buy what they want, check out, and pay through MallforAfrica,” said Folayan.

eBay’s partnership with MallforAfrica aims to solve a number of challenges that global consumer goods companies face when entering African markets. Its unique payment and delivery system allows its proprietary system to serve as a digital broker and logistics manager between U.S. retailers and African consumers.
 

MallforAfrica is backed by UK private equity firm Helios Investment Partners and has partnerships with companies such as Hawes and Curtis and department store Macy’s.

The Ebay/MallforAfrica partnership demonstrates continued foreign confidence in Africa’s retail markets and the value proposition for African e-commerce. The continent’s consumer spending is estimated to surpass $1.4 trillion annually by 2020. Online sales are expected to top $75 billion by 2025, according to McKinsey’s Global Institute.
 

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