Safaricom set to launch its e-commerce site across Africa next year
Safaricom has revealed plans to expand its e-commerce proposition, “Masoko” to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by next year.
This development is on the backdrop of the expected growth of Smartphones in the region which is estimated to hit over 525 million users as at the end of2020.
It Chief Financial Services Officer, Sitoyo Lopokoiyit said that:
“We see endless possibilities for business beyond borders. We are currently reviewing our e-commerce proposition Masoko to ensure that we are positioned ready to take off. Through the mobile phone, and with its penetration in Kenya at 100 percent, most families have access to at least one mobile phone, making it possible to use these devices as powerful tools for social and economic development.”
Though, the announcement follows a recent partnership where the company signed a deal with Chinese run online store under Alibaba Group Aliexpress.com to expand its e-commerce reach in the country that enables them to use M-PESA as a payment option.
However, the ambition for the Masoko platform is to bring the market to small businesses wherever they are in Kenya and to give them access to opportunities presented by the rapid growth of e-commerce across the globe.
Lopokoiyit added that the company is purposed to transform lives by investing in technology and knowledge, stressing that this will widen the reach of the possibilities it has witnessed in the last twenty years to reach right across the continent, using that pocket-sized gadget.
In the spirit of innovation, Safaricom has so far opened its platform to over 16,000 Fintech developers to develop relevant products and services to customers.
