AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol: Startups, your Continental competition is now in your backyard

The blessing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Digital Trade Protocol is that it seeks to further push the growth of e-commerce on the continent. On the other hand, the curse with the move is that it effectively means that companies like Jumia and Takealot who were restricted to certain markets, for one reason or another, have the opportunity to spread their wings to be continent-wide entities.

It might sound like fear-mongering, but the assumption of safety in your local market is slowly eroding, at least on paper. It doesn’t only apply to startups in the e-commerce industry, but others like Agtech, Edutech, Fintech (to some extent) and many others, including SMEs.

The AfCFTA’s Digital Trade Protocol presents an opportunity for better-funded, more mature and hardened operators to explore the opportunities in other markets.

Follow the money

E-commerce in Africa is a heavily funded industry and growing industry (in some markets) as shown by the billions that have gone into the industry over the years…