1、Africa E-Commerce AgendaRoadmap for ActionSeptember 2019202Summary04Introduction04Challenges to E-Commerce Growth06Developing An ActionAgenda08ActionAgenda24Next Steps3SUMMARYOnline marketplaces could drive inclusive growth across Africa,with e-commerce likely to create as many as 3 million jobs by
2、2025.Benefits will include opening markets to otherwise isolated rural communities,servicing Africas fast-growing consumer class,and offering women access to new business opportunities.Realizing this potential presents a major opportunity,but will require significant annual growth,and must first ove
3、rcome a number of challenges.Africas E-commerce Agenda is a call to action from e-commerce stakeholders within and beyond the continent.Led by the World Economic Forum and the Inter-national Trade Centre(ITC)a community of business leaders and experts have identified eight areas for consideration ra
4、nging from refreshing policies to expanding connectivity,and upgrading logistics to managing data.Each area comes with a goal and recommended steps.Now is the time to ensure that the jobs and inclusive growth potential of e-commerce is captured for Africa.4E-commerce in Africa is well underway,invol
5、ving business-to-business,business-to-consumer,goods and services.Already,estimates suggest as many as 264 e-commerce start-ups are operational across the continent,active in at least 23 countries.It brings significant employment potential,with online market places set to generate 3 million jobs by
6、2025.These will be direct,as well as in supporting services,such as logistics and payment service providers;customer relations management,marketing,analytics and website services and technology vendors.In turn,delivery services will need mechanics,job portals require recruiters,while any business re
7、lies on legal,accounting and office space.With action,e-commerce can become a force for sustainable development.One example is gender.Women entrepreneurs increasingly use digital tools to drive businesses,where previously social norms or family duties may have kept them out of the workforce.Just 37%
8、of women in Sub-Saharan Africa have a bank account,compared to 48%of men.In some cases,fintech can help bring financial services directly to women that may otherwise have faced legal or cultural barriers through more traditional routes.CHALLENGES Yet there are challenges to Africas e-commerce growth
9、.Too many start-ups are unprofitable.Entrepreneurs battle exceptionally low consumer trust and e-skills,low internet penetration and affordability,uncompetitive delivery infrastructure,fragmented markets and rising barriers to cross-border e-payments.According to some estimates,emerging economies st
10、and to gain US$3.7 trillion in GDP by greater use of digital finance,yet only 34%of African adults made or received a digital payment in 2017.Despite increased digital visibility in neighbouring The potential of e-commerceINTRODUCTION5markets,intra-regional and global e-commerce trade remains small.
11、Regulations have not kept pace with digital developments.According to the United Nations,32 of Africas 54 nations have laws in place to govern“e-transactions”(online exchange);23 have laws on data protection and privacy;and only 20 address online consumer protection.The region also lags behind other
12、s in the UNCTAD B2C E-commerce Index,which is calculated on a set of four composite indicators highly relevant to online shopping.6An ecosystem approachEach area identifies current hurdles,sets goals and offers references to help reach them.The agenda recognizes that for any individual e-commerce bu
13、siness to prosper,a wide ecosystem of digital technology and supporting companies must also flourish,with a mix of local and global action need-ed if growing cross-border activity is the goal.Many of the actions listed would have benefits for both online market places and a wider cohort of digital t
14、rade businesses.Leveraging existing negotiationsCritically,this action agenda encourages Africas policy-makers to pursue e-commerce priorities at multiple levels,given its inherently borderless potential.It calls for firmly anchoring e-commerce within the negotiations on the African Continental Free
15、 Trade Area(AfCFTA)and encourages more African governments to join the plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization(WTO).By engaging in international trade talks Africa can champion the interests of small-and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs)with less resources to tackle regu
16、latory friction and market barriers.The donor community must also lean in.Still far Developing an action agendaGenerating those 3 million new jobs assumes a 25-50%annual revenue growth from Africas current online market places,according to some researchers,but realizing these figures requires action
17、.A community of businesses and experts led by the World Economic Forum and the International Trade Centre(ITC)have identified eight priority actions for consideration by Africas policy leaders and the international development community.7too little overseas development assistance is dedicated to new
18、 trade drivers;just 1%of all funding under“Aid for Trade”pro-grammes is allocated to“ICT solutions”,let alone e-commerce.Wider digital economy infrastructureWe recognize that e-commerce and new trade opportunities sit within a broader digital economy context,including infrastructure-related,and tech
19、nology questions such as 5G.Policy cooperation on related digital issues taxation,competition,labour and consumer protec-tion,intellectual property is critical,too,as noted by the United Nations Secretary Generals High-Level Panel On Digital Cooperation.These areas will be the guard-rails of e-comme
20、rce and the digital economy.It is important to take a bottom-up approach when defining policy interventions,to ensure buy-in from local stakeholders,who need to be satisfied that the overall digital ecosystem is beneficial to them.This action agenda is designed as a launchpad for e-commerce jobs and
21、 devel-opment.It is not,however,a deep-dive other,more detailed sources of information on the digital economy in Africa,such as the UNCTAD Nairobi Manifesto,are useful.8Refresh policiesActionAfrican governments lead multi-stakeholder policy debates nationally,explore co-regulation options,take forwa
22、rd e-commerce in operationalising the AfCFTA and engage in negotiations at the WTO.International donors provide legal and technical capacity building as needed.ImportancePolicies shape the business environment,affecting everything from payment options to internet prices and IP protection.Trade coope
23、ration,integration instruments and rules based on common standards can boost exports by reducing business uncertainty and compliance costs.ChallengeAlthough some e-commerce strategies and policies are at play,Africa falls behind on adopting key regulations,and legal uncertainty exists on multi-juris
24、dictional issues(e-transactions,privacy,consumer protection,digital identity).There is a need to support an inclusive pan-African perspective for e-commerce and the digital economy.ACTION AGENDASupport the creation of national or regional e-commerce multistakeholder associations to champion policies
25、;develop the African Digital Trade and Digital Economy Strategy as mandated for the African Union Assembly in February 2020;agree an approach for incorporating e-commerce into the AfCFTA whether as a stand-alone chapter,protocol or building on existing African Union instruments;intra-regional regula
26、tory interoperability;and represent these interests globally.Aspiration9The“Rapid eTrade Readiness Assessment”programme,championed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD),analyses the e-commerce situation in a number of countries.The assessments offer a fast-track mapping o
27、f challenges and opportunities and identifies policy recommendations.PERSPECTIVE10Expand connectivityActionTake steps to encourage competitive markets aimed at the unconnected,including through clear spectrum management,transparency on licensing,and investment into new business models.ImportanceUser
28、s are key for kick-starting domestic e-commerce growth and entrepreneurs need connectivity.Affordable internet access is the backbone of an inclusive digital economy.ChallengeOnly a quarter of Africas population regularly uses the internet.Costs are high.On average,1GB of data is 9%of monthly income
29、.A broader infrastructure deficit particularly on energy exacerbates the situation for service providers and users.Digital literacy is also low.ACTION AGENDAAchieve the“missed”Sustainable Development Goal 9c provide universal and affordable internet access to least developed countries by 2020 in Afr
30、ica by 2030.Aspiration11The World Bank Digital Moonshot for Africa initiative will invest$25 billion in Africas digital transformation through to 2030 and mobilize$25 billion in partnership with the private sector.PERSPECTIVE12Upgrade logisiticsActionAdvance implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitat
31、ion Agreement(TFA)including elements on import/export transparency,expedited release and single window entry points for document clearing that could be particularly helpful for e-commerce.Establish public-private partnerships to target small business logistics needs and explore new technologies.Impo
32、rtanceE-commerce requires reliable delivery and return options,including a choice between postal and express.Small package trade needs efficient infrastructure and services,as well as low-hassle border clearance.ChallengeInefficient logistics and high last mile delivery costs compared to other regio
33、ns eat into thin e-commerce profit margins.Africa is also home to many landlocked developing countries,where logistics costs depend as much on the efficiency of their neighbours transport services and border processes as their own.ACTION AGENDAUpgrade customs clearance technology and processes for t
34、he majority of African countries.Adapt competitive logistics service offerings to e-commerce and make them more widely available.Increase awareness of e-commerce postal services.Aspiration13ITC,through its Digital Transformation for Good approach,is working with the Government of Rwanda and partners
35、 such as DHL to support SMEs to break into local and international e-commerce channels and to have access to improved logistics services.PERSPECTIVE14Enable e-paymentsActionDrive open dialogue among regulators,policy-makers and payment ecosystem participants to identify common challenges to the grow
36、th of e-payments.Implement policies that promote competition and a level playing field across the payment ecosystem.ImportanceE-payments are fundamental to e-commerce to mitigate the security risks and costs of handling cash.The ability to accept e-payments from consumers abroad also gives SMEs acce
37、ss to more markets.ChallengeWith the majority of Africas citizens still unbanked,cash on delivery remains popular,used in just under half of all e-transactions by value.Also,policies are often not adapted to complex payment supply chains and do not account for the role of global networks in increasi
38、ng security,reducing cyber risk,expanding financial inclusion,and supporting cross-border exports.ACTION AGENDAImprove interoperability between international payment service providers,local banks and regional payment ecosystems.Leverage Africas position as a global leader in mobile payments with dig
39、ital payment innovation as a first point of contact for universal financial services access.Aspiration15Safaricom has partnered with Paypal to enable qualifying Kenyan customers to transfer money between the online payments system and the telecommunication operators M-Pesa mobile wallet.The move wou
40、ld enable M-Pesas Kenyan subscribers to transact online,via mobile or an app with PayPals 286 million active users in up to 25 international currencies.PERSPECTIVE16Manage dataActionAccelerate data legislation dialogue and implementation;including ratifying the Malabo Convention(on Cyber Security an
41、d Personal Data Protection).Provide information and support to merchants for compliance with overseas market privacy regulations.ImportanceData flow across borders supports the delivery of payment processing,software and platform services,customer relations management systems and so on.Global data f
42、low drives business links,while greater regional data flow will be needed to lower connectivity costs.ChallengeLess than half of African economies have data protection regimes,with patchy enforcement.Those having enacted or considering data protection regimes are doing so at a national level,risking
43、 market fragmentation.At the same time,merchants are already adhering to privacy standards in nearby markets such as the European Union.African stakeholder views differ sharply on data localization;whether as a way to capture digital value or as a barrier to services access.ACTION AGENDARemain open
44、to data flow by allowing regional integration of African data markets through transparent rules and explore ways to ease business compliance in other regions.Engage in the OECD process on digital tax concerns.Aspiration17Pursue data cooperation and capacity building between Europe and Africa as prop
45、osed in a report by the EU-AU Digital Economy Task Force(EU-AU DETF)under the umbrella of the New Africa-Europe Digital Economy Partnership.PERSPECTIVE18Grow the tech industryActionIdentify specific steps to encourage tech FDI and strengthen countries capabilities to implement these.Support business
46、 to become investor-ready;establish financing vehicles that blend public and private financing to de-risk start-up funding.ImportanceEquity funding in African tech start-ups has increased rapidly reaching US$1.16 billion in 2018.Very little can be achieved without sector specific investment to stren
47、gthen e-commerce businesses.Foreign Direct Investment(FDI)has a role to play in plugging infrastructure gaps and raising the availability of risk capital.ChallengeOverall FDI flows into Africa are more limited than in other regions,adding up to just 3.5%of the global total in 2018,while tech funding
48、 specifically may be 5-6 times lower.Most investment is concentrated in a handful of economies.ACTION AGENDADouble investment into Africas tech sector and related enabling services including in marginalized economies to be realized by 2030.Aspiration19Africa50,a pan-African infrastructure investment
49、 platform,launched an Innovation Challenge at the 2019 Transform Africa Summit held in Kigali,Rwanda.The challenge calls for solutions to increase high-speed internet access in under-served areas with winning solutions considered for project development funding.PERSPECTIVE20Coach small businessActio
50、nBetter use incubators on a 400%rise across the continent as of the end of 2018 to get small businesses to a point where they can sustainably attract global private investment.Work with networks such as The African Civil Society for the Information Society(ACSIS)on ICT skills training and encouragin
