For a continent that has the youngest and second largest population in the world, the shopping habits of Africans is beginning to evolve as the continent’s digital economy continues to thrive. Especially as the biggest e-commerce startups in Africa alongside African e-commerce startups are eager to meet and exceed the demands of online shoppers.
The rapid increase of smartphones on the continent and its rising internet penetration is whetting Africa’s appetite for online shopping.
In 2021, there was significant growth in eCommerce in Sub-Saharan Africa. The continent saw a 55% increase in online retail spending, as well as growth in the volume of downloads and installation of eCommerce apps on Android and iOS, which was 55% and 32%, respectively.
While the future of e-commerce in Africa seems to look great, we have to recognise the e-commerce companies in Africa that are driving this growth.
See: Innovative Agritech Startups in Africa to Keep an Eye
Here’s a list of the biggest e-commerce companies in Africa taking enabling and taking advantage of the continent’s e-commerce boom
Biggest e-Commerce Startups in Africa
| Name | Region/Country | Product Category |
|---|---|---|
| Jumia | Africa | General |
| Takealot.com | South Africa | General |
| Twiga | Kenya | B2B E-commerce |
| Konga | Nigeria | General |
| bidorbuy | South Africa | Ecommerce, Auction |
| noon | Middle East | General |
| Zando | South Africa | Fashion |
| Afrikrea | ||
| Kilimall | Africa | General |
1. Jumia
Category: B2C E-commerce
Total Funding: $1.2B
Jumia currently receives the largest web traffic when it comes to eCommerce companies in Africa. Jumia reportedly sees monthly visits of 23.3 million.
Jumia launched in 2012 in Nigeria and now has a presence in 23 African countries with a merchant network of over half a million.
Jumia is a general e-commerce company (B2C/B2B), for accessing products and services spanning the retail, food and hospitality, talent recruitment, and concierge industries amongst others.
Jumia countries in Africa:
| # | Country | Visits/month | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jumia Nigeria | 7.9M | 31% |
| 2 |  Jumia Morocco | 4.3M | 17% |
| 3 |  Jumia Egypt | 3.6M | 14% |
| 4 |  Jumia Kenya | 2.3M | 9% |
| 5 |  Jumia Tunisia | 1.4M | 6% |
| 6 |  Jumia Côte d’Ivoire | 1.2M | 5% |
| Others | 4.7M | 18% |
2. Takealot
Category: B2C E-commerce
Takealot.com is the biggest online retailer in South Africa, owned by Internet conglomerate, Naspers.
Takealot launched in 2011 and by 2015, it merged with competitor Kalahari.com.
Today, Takealot.com is one of the biggest e-commerce companies in Africa and a retailer, that sells items across all product categories to consumers in South Africa.
Takealot has a network of distribution centres and parcel collection points across the country.
The African e-commerce company currently owns South African online fashion retailer Superbalist and food delivery service Mr D Food.
Takealot is the second most visited eCommerce platform in Africa, with an average monthly visit of 10.5 million.
Naspers has a 53,5% stake in Takealot, while Tiger Global owns about 34%.
3. KiliMall
Category: B2C E-commerce
Kenya’s Kilimall got its name from Mount Kilimanjaro, which was founded in 2014.
While Kilimall is an online marketplace, it isn’t a retailer. However, as one of the biggest e-commerce companies in Africa, it operates its own fulfilment service and global shopping programs.
While Kilimall is still a recent African e-commerce startup, it has grown a significant retail customer base.
Kilimall product categories include electronics, phones, computers, gadgets, home appliances, clothes, books, and health and beauty products, amongst others.
4. Konga
Category: B2C E-commerce
Konga which launched in 2012, mainly operates in Nigeria.
The e-commerce company reportedly gets 2.3 million visits per month from Nigeria.
Konga is essentially an online marketplace and a retailer that sells goods and services as well. As one of the biggest e-commerce companies in Africa, that owns a logistics service and collection points network called Kxpress.
Some of Konga’s subsidiaries include; KongaFood, Konga Travel, KongaHealth and KongaPay.
5. BidorBuy
Category: B2C E-commerce
Bidorbuy is one of the biggest e-commerce sites in South Africa with 1.9 million visits per month.
Launched in 1999 mirroring eBay’s online auction model. Forward to the present and fixed-price listings are now the most popular format on BidorBuy.
Bidorbuy is purely an online marketplace, and not a retailer itself. However, a lot of the sellers on Bidorbuy are businesses as the site has a comprehensive buyer protection program.
On BidorBuy, buyers can buy what they want, and also make a bid for products, in essence, an online auction.
Bidorbuy has made several acquisitions of South African online businesses like Jobs.co.za and e-commerce company uAfrica.com.
6. Zando.co.za
Category: B2C E-commerce
Zando is one of the South African eCommerce platforms on this list of biggest e-commerce companies in Africa. whose monthly traffic stood at 570, 000, as of 2021.
Zando is an online marketplace where sellers can sell beauty products, fashion brands, homeware, etc.
7. Afrikrea
Category: B2C E-commerce
Afrikrea is an online marketplace for African fashion, arts and crafts.
Afrikrea has customers from 100 countries around the globe and has over 5000 merchants on its platform. This e-commerce site gets over 250,000 visitors every month.
8. Cartona
Category: B2B E-commerce
Cartona is a B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects buyers and sellers across the supply chain.
In essence, the African e-commerce startup connects retailers to suppliers (FCMG Producers) and wholesalers.
Cartona’s curated network of sellers allows the company to operate as an asset-light marketplace. Cartona’s B2B e-commerce model has made it one of the biggest e-commerce companies in Africa.
The company has raised a total of $16.5 million
9. Twiga Foods
Category: B2B E-commerce
Twiga Foods is a B2B food marketplace and retail distribution platform that uses technology to link farmers and FCMGs to retailers on the African continent. Twiga has over 100,000 registered customers and delivers to 10,000 every day, enabling food to be acquired and delivered throughout Kenya.
Twiga also launched a fintech product that provides merchants with finance to help them grow their enterprises.
Twiga Foods has aided over 17,000 fresh food producers since its inception in 2014 by providing thrice-weekly deliveries to 8,000 merchants.
Twiga Foods has raised a Total Funding of $157.1 Million.
Checkout: Innovative Agritech Startups in Africa to kee an Eye On
10. Homzmart
Category: B2C E-commerce
Homzmart is an online end-to-end platform that sells home furniture, home décor, lighting, and home supplies.
Homzmart is an e-commerce platform that sells home furniture, home décor, lighting, and home supplies. The company specializes in the fields of home improvement, eCommerce, home directory, technology, and home shopping. It was founded in 2019 and headquartered in Cairo, Al Qahirah.
9. The Fashion Kingdom (TFK)
Category: B2C E-commerce
TFK is becoming one of the household names in fashion e-commerce startups in Africa.
This fashion platform gives value for money, experience and the best sustainable brands to its customers.
10. Chari
Category: B2B E-commerce
Chari is a B2B e-commerce and fintech platform for traditional proximity stores in French Speaking Africa. Chari is an e-commerce and fintech app for traditional retailers in French-Speaking Africa allowing them to order any consumer goods they sell and get delivered for free in less than 24 hours. Chari is also a financial services provider for these retailers, offering them microloans.
11. Appetito
Category: B2C E-commerce
Appetito is an online delivery startup that delivers grocery and household products using dark stores.
12. Jabu
Category: B2B E-commerce
Jabu is a marketplace and distribution partner, offering tech-enabled, route-to-market development and merchandising for FMCG brands.
13. Wasoko (SokoWatch)
Category: B2B E-commerce
Wasoko wants to significantly improve food distribution in Africa by connecting small shops to the digital economy.
14. Alerzo
Category: B2B E-commerce
Alerzo helps informal retailers in Africa grow their businesses and thrive in today’s dynamic environment by providing unified digital services to them.
15. Vendease Nigeria
Category: B2B E-commerce
Vendease is a Nigerian online marketplace for Africa’s food service businesses
16. Brimore
Category: B2B E-commerce
Brimore is a parallel distribution social commerce platform allowing local suppliers to have nationwide coverage through a network of distributors.
17. MaxAB
Category: B2B E-commerce
MaxAB is a B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects food and grocery retailers to suppliers in Egypt’s most under-served geographies.
18. Capiter
Category: B2B E-commerce
Capiter is a B2B marketplace that brings FMCGs, wholesalers & merchants to the same platform
19. RabbitEgypt
Category: B2C E-commerce
Rabbit is an Egypt-based startup which aims at disrupting the eCommerce niche
20. Ominibiz
21. Sabi
22. MarketForce
23. ExpandCart
24. Sharwa
25. Klashna
26. Bumpa
27. Kwely
28. Duhqa
29. Powered by People
30. Tushop
31. Pocket by Piggyvest
Leave a Reply