Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Mall for Africa CEO Chris Folayan (Part 4)

Chris Folayan: What I’ve noticed even from sales on our platform is that people are moving towards tablets – mostly tablets with SIM cards in them because then, you have constant data. The adoption of WiFi all over is not something that is common in Africa at this time. You have people adopting tablets. They’re looking for bigger screens but all with SIM connections.

Sramana Mitra: It sounds like what Africa is looking for is a larger phone that also doubles up as a tablet.

Chris Folayan: It is. That’s what they’re looking for. I see that trend picking up here slowly.

Sramana Mitra: India also went through this process. India doesn’t have this ubiquitous WiFi. In United States, we have this ubiquitous WiFi. That gives you a different level of access and viability for a tablet that does not have a SIM card or a phone connection. In India, the WiFi-based tablet model doesn’t really have that much applicability. >>>

Fashion E-Tailer JustFab Subscribes its Way to the Billion Dollar Club

According to a Forrester release, US e-commerce sales are projected to grow from $294 billion in 2014 to $414 billion by the year 2018 at a compound annual growth rate of 9.5% between 2013 and 2018. However, that market still has a long way to grow considering that the total retail market in the country is $3 trillion.

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Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Mall for Africa CEO Chris Folayan (Part 3)

Chris Folayan: Most of the financial transactions right now are based on purchasing of items. In Nigeria, for example, you can buy your airplane tickets on your mobile device. You also have new applications out there using which you can hail a taxi – something like Uber. Mobile payment is something that’s picking up. It hasn’t exploded as most people would have thought. It’s pretty much because Africa is still trying to get a grasp of the change, and it’s going to take a generation or two for that change to happen. Africa has always been a cash-based society, so you, like most third-world countries, are changing from cash-based society to electronic-based. It is taking some time to happen, but it is happening. >>>

Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Mall for Africa CEO Chris Folayan (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: How do you estimate the size of that market currently? How much is the volume of e-commerce that’s happening? Also, what is the volume of cross-boundary e-commerce that’s happening?

Chris Folayan: As far as volume of e-commerce happening across Africa is concerned, it’s well in billions of dollars at this point in time.  It’s only getting stronger because you have the influence of financial dynamics taking place where mobile operators are reducing the cost to get online from their mobile devices. Bandwidth is basically becoming cheaper, so people are using their smartphones to do more transactions and data gathering to make purchases and to just inquire about various things. The trend is definitely an uptick.

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The Unstoppable Alibaba Set To Go Public Soon

Today, China is the single largest e-commerce market in the world. Analysts estimate that by 2015, China’s e-commerce market will be worth $540 billion and by 2020, the country’s e-commerce market will be more than that of the US, the UK, Japan, Germany, and France put together. This remarkable growth is driven by the Chinese government’s ambitions of connecting 85% of their population to a 3G or 4G mobile Internet connection by the year 2020.

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Thought Leaders in E-Commerce: Mall for Africa CEO Chris Folayan (Part 1)

E-Commerce is blossoming all over the world. In this story, we take a close look at what is happening in Africa, especially Nigeria.

Sramana Mitra: Let’s start with introducing our audience to yourself as well as Mall For Africa. Tell us about what you do and what’s happening in your world.

Chris Folayan: I’m the Founder and CEO of Mall for Africa. Mall for Africa is an online application both for PC and mobile that allows people in Africa to purchase items from US and UK sites. Most companies currently do not ship directly to any country in Africa, but Africa is a thriving continent and people there want to purchase items from the US and UK. Since many sites in the US and UK don’t do that, we’ve created a platform that, in essence, opens up  true global e-commerce to the people of Africa. >>>

E-Commerce Home Goods Store One Kings Lane In IPO Pipeline

The niche US home goods market has a long way to go. Market reports suggest that the industry has a mere 6% Internet penetration in the country. However, things are improving with e-commerce companies like Wayfair.com, One Kings Lane, and Fab.com bringing the home goods market to the consumers in a way not available earlier.

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E-Commerce Jeweler Blue Nile Struggling to Grow

A report by Euromonitor International estimated the US jewelry market to have recovered to $59.1 billion last year. The market is finally back to pre-recessionary conditions and is projected to grow another 14% by the year 2018. The market remains highly fragmented with no single retailer commanding more than a 6% market share, suggesting a big opportunity for growth and consolidation. Recently, Signet Jewelers acquired Zale Corporation, sparking interest in other jewelry companies.

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