MallforAfrica Sets Up Shop in Kenya

Following successful roll out of the business in West Africa, UAE and the Caribbean and a growing demand for its services in Kenya, MallforAfrica has opened an office in Nairobi as an ideal launchpad to grow its service in Africa.

MallforAfrica is an online shopping platform with over 8.5 billion items for sale at over 150 US and UK stores. It is the only e-commerce platform in Africa that provides access to US and UK stores directly. Some of the retailers include Amazon, Carters, Fashion Fair Cosmetics, Topshop UK, Barneys, Footlocker, Sports Direct, M&S, Bloomingdale’s, J. Crew, among others.

‘’A growing number of Kenyan consumers have been ordering goods through our platform and it makes sense for us to set up our second base in Nairobi,’’ noted MallforAfrica Country Manager, Kenya, Naomi Konditi-Kivuvani during the official launch of their offices in Nairobi.

More Kenyans are now Tech-savvy and are increasingly shopping online, however, there is still a growing challenge to get genuine international products locally, or to get a payment platform preferred by majority of Kenyans. MallforAfrica makes it easy for one to purchase goods from a store of their choice and have it delivered to their doorstep within 15 working days. Additionally customers can easily pay for their goods through local payment solutions including Mpesa.

E-Commerce has rapidly grown in the recent years across Africa and the world at large. This is because of the positive outcomes on various industries including travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors, with a ripple effect on entire economies especially in developing countries. These include but not limited to increased revenue returns as businesses diversify their clientele reach, as well as efficient and faster transactions both online and via mobile money solutions.

A survey done by Geo-poll in 2016 shows that in seven sub-Saharan countries, e-commerce makes up one to three per cent of Gross Domestic Product. It is predicted to make up 10 per cent of total retail sales in key markets by 2025, with 40 per cent annual growth over the next 10 years.

South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya are the leading countries in online shopping in sub-Saharan Africa.