Top eCommerce Countries in Africa

Top eCommerce Countries in Africa: Key Insights

• Largest eCommerce Countries in Africa: Egypt leads the African eCommerce market in 2023 with US$3.5 billion in revenue, growing by 66.8% year-on-year. South Africa ranks closely behind Egypt with US$3.4 billion in 2023.

• Africa's Global Position: Africa remains the smallest eCommerce market globally, with revenues of US$16.1 billion in 2023, far behind regions like Asia and the Americas.

• Historical Challenges: Africa's smaller eCommerce market is partly due to historical factors such as colonialism and today's neo-colonialism, which have affected economic development.

• Continental Growth Outlook: Africa's eCommerce market is expected to continue growing at a CAGR of 11.7% from 2024 to 2028, doubling in size compared to 2023.

The eCommerce market on the African continent is considered to be in its infancy, with a total revenue of US$16.1 billion in 2023. Although this part of the world cannot be compared to big players such as China or the U.S. in terms of size, the eCommerce sector has a lot to offer.

The market is booming, with Egypt leading the way in eCommerce, South Africa not far behind, and countries like Nigeria and Algeria undergoing rapid change. How are they competing and what challenges are they facing? Let's break down what's happening among the key players in African eCommerce.

Top eCommerce Countries on the
African Continent

Among the leading eCommerce markets by country, a number of different countries are in a tight race. These include major economies on the African continent such as South Africa, Egypt and Algeria – but which are the largest eCommerce markets in Africa?

• The Egyptian eCommerce sector leads the African market with a revenue of US$3.5 billion in 2023.

• Egypt and South Africa are close, with a difference of around US$150 million.

• Algeria and Nigeria follow in third and fourth place with US$2 billion and US$1.9 billion respectively, with not much space between these two countries.

• Fifth in the ranking of the top 5 eCommerce countries on the African continent is Ghana with revenues of US$680 million in 2023.

• Moving down the list, we see countries such as Morocco, Kenya, and the Ivory Coast with net sales of US$603 million, US$564 million, and US$505 million in 2023.

1. Egypt

In first place ranks Egypt, which recorded revenues of US$3.5 billion last year. Compared to 2022, the market has grown by an impressive 66.8%, moving up to the 49th position in the global eCommerce country ranking. This strong rise may be due to, among other things, the accelerated expansion of the Suez Canal and the loosening of the government's grip on the economy.

Among the leading online stores in Egypt, we can find the Egyptian domain of the U.S. giant Amazon, as well as that of Carrefour. Egyptian online stores such as btech.com, specialized in electronics, and chefaa.com, specialized in care products, also feature among the top eCommerce stores in the country.

2. South Africa

South Africa follows closely behind with net sales of US$3.4 billion in 2023. This puts the country in 50th place in the global eCommerce country ranking. Like many markets, the African country benefited from the eCommerce boom during the pandemic. As the boom ended, the year-on-year growth rate declined to -0.3% between 2022 and 2023. 

The leading online store, with sales of US$349 million, is takealot.com, which offers a range of products from all categories. The online store is owned by the South African company Takealot Online Pty., Ltd. The retailer is followed by the ultra-fast fashion giant shein.com. And competition from international players is growing as amazon.com entered the country's eCommerce market in September 2024.

3. Algeria

Algeria ranks third on the African continent and 56th in the world with eCommerce revenues of nearly US$2 billion in 2023. Compared to last year, the eCommerce market surged by 90%, due in part to growing internet penetration and new payment and delivery methods.

The country's eCommerce sector has benefited from its young population. This young, fresh spirit is fostering what is often referred to as a "burgeoning start-up nation". At the same time, the Algerian eCommerce market struggles with online fraud. Much of this is the result of the lack of a defined legal framework.

4. Nigeria

In 2023, the eCommerce market in Nigeria reached a turnover of US$1.9 billion, following Algeria in 57th place globally. Among the top 5, the country suffered the most in terms of year-on-year performance, with a growth rate of -11.6%. The main challenges lie in several areas such as delivery infrastructure, payment methods and product availability.

Among the top 5 online stores in Nigeria, four stores are of Nigerian origin. The largest of these players is jumia.com.ng, the Nigerian online store of marketplace Jumia. The marketplace follows a similar model to Amazon, generating net sales of US$33.7 million in 2023. This puts Jumia at US$27.3 million from second place slot.ng, an online electronics store with net sales of US$6.4 million.

5. Ghana

The last place among the top 5 countries in Africa is occupied by Ghana. In 2023, the country's eCommerce sector generated revenues of US$681 million. This puts Ghana 72nd in the global eCommerce country ranking. During the pandemic years, the industry benefited from the eCommerce boom and grew the most from 2019 to 2020 by 107%.

The government has partially contributed to the proliferation of the eCommerce market by launching the Ghana Digital Property Address System, or GhanaPostGPS for short, in 2017. In addition, Ghana's eCommerce market is driven by growing internet penetration, improvements in cybersecurity, and digital business registration.

eCommerce on the African Continent

The African continent continues to show a positive growth trend. Special events, such as COVID-19, have given the whole progress a major boost – let's take a look at the details:

• Even before the pandemic, the continent was experiencing strong growth in the eCommerce industry, with a YoY growth rates of 31% in 2018 and 22.5% in 2019.

• The market benefited from corona, jumping from revenues of US$4.8 billion in 2019 to US$7.5 billion in 2020, and then to US$10.8 billion.

• Thereafter, the increase slowed to 22.6% in 2022 and 22% in 2023, reaching net sales of US$13.2 billion in 2022 and US$13.2 billion in 2023.

• African eCommerce continues to grow with an expected CAGR of 11.7% from 2024 to 2028. By 2028, Africa's eCommerce revenues could reach US$29 billion.

As the African market is smaller compared to other eCommerce sectors, it offers much potential for growth.

Comparing the eCommerce Markets by Continent: Africa with Smallest Revenue

Comparing the African eCommerce market to other continents, it becomes clear that it cannot compete with other leading regions such as Asia. There are historical reasons why Africa cannot keep pace with other continents. Centuries of colonialism and imperialism have resulted in many African countries being economically disadvantaged compared to former colonizers and states.

While some colonies never achieved full independence from their colonizers, neocolonialism today leads to new dependencies, such as China through its investments and political influence. We can see the consequences of all this in the eCommerce marketplace:

• Asia dominates the sector with a revenue of US$2.38 trillion in 2023. The key player here is China, with companies such as Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd., PDD Holdings, Inc., and JD.com, Inc.

• The American market follows in second place with net sales of US$1.12 trillion. A big player on this continent is the United States with eCommerce giants like Amazon.com, Inc., Walmart, Inc., and eBay, Inc.

• Next comes Europe with revenues of US$660.4 billion in 2023. In this region, we can find battles between local, Chinese, and U.S. eCommerce players.

• Australia & Oceania follows with US$49.3 billion in revenue. Here too we see a similar phenomenon as in Europe.

• Not far behind is Africa with a revenue of US$16.1 billion. A big player here is the marketplace Jumia, also called the "Amazon of Africa".

Top eCommerce Countries in Africa:
Closing Thoughts

The African eCommerce market is expected to continue to grow steadily over the next few years, thanks in part to improved Internet access and payment systems. The pandemic has boosted the sector, and this growth trend is expected to continue, although the pace of increase is likely to slow compared to previous peaks.

Key players such as Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria will remain at the forefront, while other countries may catch up. Challenges like online fraud, logistics and regulatory hurdles will need to be addressed to ensure continued success. At the same time, global interest remains high, especially from China, which could help accelerate the growth of Africa's eCommerce sector, as well as the continent's overall economy, but also create dependency.

Sources: ECDB, secondary sources in the referenced articles.