Best E-Commerce (Classifieds/Marketplace): DIAA 2015 Nominees Brief

E-commerce, is trading in products or services using computer networks, such as the Internet. Since the early 2000s, e-commerce was a talk in Africa but lately it has started to be a practical reality.  Several online business have opened shop to tap into the opportunity that growing mobile internet penetration is opening. Additionally, Africa is at the verge of having real sustainable enablement of e-commerce payments given the mobile money integration that is currently happening with online shops.

An online marketplace (or online e-commerce marketplace) is a type of e-commerce site where product or service information is provided by multiple third parties, whereas transactions are processed by the marketplace operator. Classified advertising is a form of advertising which is particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals which may be sold or distributed free of charge.

As Africa wakes up to the huge potential of e-commerce, mobile operators and service providers will have the unique chance to establish a lead in the market.

People in the UK spent GBP 18 billion (USD 30 billion) shopping online in 2014, with 3 billion of this spent using mobile devices. Recent research shows that these numbers are going to keep growing and growing.

Do not take for granted, the modern technology that must be the backbone for providing information about production, order facilities, payment, tracking of goods and optimization of transport from a sustainability perspective, as well direct and continuous communication between seller and buyer. For the retailers and dealers in commerce, it is time to rethink and understand that E-commerce has gone mainstream.

Take a look at the nominees for Digital Impact Awards Africa (DIAA) 2015 Best E-Commerce (Classifieds/Marketplace):

Cheki

Established in 2010, Cheki is an autos classifieds website.  Cheki is one of the few classifieds business that are already making business sense. Cheki charges per car to list, with a discount for large dealers. Its model is one of the successful e-commerce businesses in Africa. Cheki offers users access to a mobile friendly website with integrates good search and alerts tools.

Kaymu

Kaymu, an online marketplace, is one of the online businesses under Rocket Internet’s stewardship.  The online marketplace connects buyers and sellers to transact online. With a Mobile App designed to run on android and apple, the platform brings e-commerce to the hands of many Africans.

Lamudi

Lamudi helps people in the property market find their ideal home, land or commercial property. It empowers consumers with the information in the market and get them in contact with the agents. Lamudi is one of the online businesses under Rocket Internet’s stewardship.

OLX

Naspers-owned online classifieds platform OLX has seen steady growth in Africa.  OLX is a seller to customer online marketplace that allows anybody to sell their products. Sellers take a picture of the product, create a description and upload it to the marketplace with their contact details. Interested customers see the product, contact the seller and plan a meeting place for the transaction.

The winner of Digital Impact Awards Africa (DIAA) 2015 Best E-Commerce (Classifieds/Marketplace) category will be announced at the gala ceremony to be held on 13th August at Serena Kampala Hotel. This is one of the most anticipated events of the year and guarantees excitement and invaluable networking opportunities with some of the top corporate professionals on the continent. To attend the awards, please book at http://www.digital-impact-awards.com/#awards-dinner