While the emerging middle-class and upper-class African consumers continue to demand African and international brands of high quality, consumer purchasing power has been constrained by the economic effects of the pandemic even as those consumers shifted to online channels. Outside of Africa there is an estimated 10.7 billion EUR African diaspora and Africa-interested consumer market that is highly underserved.
The global coronavirus pandemic affected traditional brick and mortar shops while online sales skyrocketed across disparate categories. People moved online, and the trend has continued. In Africa, eCommerce also grew during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Within Africa, the eCommerce opportunity is estimated to reach $24 billion in 2021 with fashion contributing to one quarter of the total with the market expected to grow up to 20% per annum over the next three years.
ANKA is democratizing market access for sellers to access global markets. ANKA built a platform that lets sellers invest in marketing via social media channels (and teaches them how to do so), track their inventory across the seller’s own sites, ANKA’s own Afrikrea.com and other ecommerce channels, and provides access to lower-cost shipping via its partners than individual sellers could access on their own (in addition to managing returns).
