Consequently, the continent may be the next emerging market to make significant strides in online shopping. Research firm Statista estimates that the ecommerce sector in Africa generated $16.5 billion in revenue in 2017 and forecasts revenue of $29 billion by 2022. Three countries — Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa — dominate e-commerce sales. Kenya has a population of 48.5 million and an impressive 79 percent internet penetration. This is because Kenya is home to M-Pesa, the mobile wallet provider started by mobile telecom provider Safaricom. The availability of a secure payment system encourages internet access and online buying. More than 45 percent of Kenyan adults use M-Pesa according to Emergent Payments. Safaricom also recently established a partnership with PayPal to enable Kenyan customers to easily transfer money between PayPal and M-Pesa mobile wallets. This collaboration will open global marketplaces to Kenyan entrepreneurs and businesses that wish to sell abroad.
Safaricom’s partnership with Western Union.
In November 2018, Safaricom announced a partnership between the telco and financial services company, Western Union. This partnership was set to allow Western Union and M-Pesa customers to transfer funds between themselves. Also Read: Safaricom partners with Western Union to enable global money transfers via M-Pesa Global The new service is part of Safaricom’s new M-Pesa Global product that aims to expand the reach of M-Pesa beyond Kenyan borders. Through M-Pesa Global, M-Pesa users are now able to send money to any of the 500,000 Western Union agent locations. The service also enable M-Pesa customers to receive money from any Western Union agent.
