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E-Commerce in Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ivory Coast

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E-Commerce in Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ivory Coast BUILDINGBUILDING THETHE MEDITERRANEANMEDITERRANEAN E-commerce in Africa Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ivory Coast. Recommendations for regional integration in the Mediterranean Alain DUCASS, main author Jean-Marc KWADJANE, secondary author Novembre 2015 3 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA THE AUTHORS Alain DUCASS is a general engineer and an international expert in digital transformation in Africa. He held high office in the French administration and worked at the DATAR and at the ADEME as Director of the international department. His last position in the administration was that of Director of the Digital Economy department at Adetef. Jean-Marc KWADJANE is a doctor of information technologies. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to thank all the people we met during the various missions, who took the time to share their experience with us as well as factual information regarding e-commerce. We would like to thank in particular the participants of the Steering committee and those who sent us written contributions. 4 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA TABLE OF CONTENTS REFLECTION CARRIED OUT BY IPEMED ..............5 Comparative analysis and SUMMARY .................................................7 interregional synergies ......................... 87 METHODOLOGICAL NOTE ............................. 12 E-commerce regional dynamics in the world ............................................. 87 E-commerce in Africa ............................. 22 Specificities of e-commerce by continent ............................................ 88 The case of Morocco .................................. 23 Cross-border e-commerce E-commerce in Morocco .............................. 24 with Africa ............................................... 91 Potential levers and obstacles to development ............................................ 29 Potential complementarities and Strengths and weaknesses ........................... 41 synergies among the studied countries ......... 93 Synergies of public policies .......................... 93 The case of Tunisia ..................................... 43 Economic synergies ................................... 96 E-commerce in Tunisia ................................ 44 Digital synergies ....................................... 98 Potential levers and obstacles to Logistic synergies .................................... 101 development ............................................ 47 Financial synergies .................................. 103 Strengths and weaknesses ........................... 56 Synergies in terms of e-commerce ............... 106 The case of Senegal ................................... 58 Contribution of e-commerce to E-commerce in Senegal............................... 59 economic and social development ............. 108 Potential levers and obstacles to Local e-commerce .................................... 108 development ............................................ 61 Informal commerce ................................. 110 Strengths and weaknesses ........................... 71 Strengths and weaknesses of The case of Ivory Coast ............................... 72 e-commerce in Africa ............................... 111 E-commerce in Ivory Coast ........................... 73 Potential levers and obstacles to Recommendations for a better development ............................................ 76 Strengths and weaknesses ........................... 85 regional integration .............................112 TABLE OF ILLUSTRATIONS .......................... 122 APPENDIXES ........................................... 123 5 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA REFLECTION CARRIED OUT BY IPEMED AT A TIME of globalisation, knowledge-driven and immaterial economies, a reflection on regional integration must necessarily take into account the on-going computerization phenomenon. The digitalisation of contemporary societies and economies is a major transformation. This phenomenon can be compared with industrialisation, is a historical process occurring over a long period and aiming at the automatic processing of any type of information. This transformation is too important to let countries alone carry out strategic actions and ensure governance at the national level. According to IPEMED, it requires a global Euro-Mediterranean policy to create a common digital space, a “.med”. This is one of the main recommendations of the report “Steps towards a .med space. Trust in the Mediterranean digital society” published in 2012 by Laurent Gille, Wahiba Hammaoui and Pierre Musso. It also recommended “the development of an industrial strategy encouraging the development of contents (software and programmes) and services linked to Information and Communica- tion Technologies (ICT) and supporting young engineers via start-ups and incu- bators”. Indeed, this Euro-Mediterranean policy must be developed in view of coproduction, which implies sharing added value, working in a sector logic and developing - especially in the South - contents (software and programmes) and high added-value activities enabling to employ the skilled, and even high- skilled, workforce of these countries with high unemployment rates. Following this idea, Rachid Jankari drew up a second report in 2014 called “Information technologies in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Towards a Euro-Maghreb ICT industry?”. It proposes a better understanding of the reality of the digital sector in North Africa. The report shows that, even though efforts must be made to make ICT more accessible and in spite of the weaknesses of public policies, the three North African countries have the minimum assets (national strategies, tech- nological zones, skills, national champions, etc.) to take advantage of the digital revolution and use it to enhance the economic emergence of their countries. They must intensify their efforts to shift from digital consumption towards content and high added-value activities production. 6 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA In 2015, the Institute chose to focus on e-commerce, on-line commerce and m-commerce, a developing sector in the South featuring great potential to reinforce the weak South-South and North-South economic exchanges and to create skilled employment. We can also reflect on coproduction and sectors by studying the current and future conditions necessary to the development of this industry. Besides, by making the connection with the sector’s realities in two Sub-Saharan countries, it highlights the emergence of a great global region Africa-Mediterranean-Europe, called La Verticale. This is a first in IPEMED’s reflections. This report, although not intended to be exhaustive given the broad subject and studied countries, aims at better understanding the e-commerce sector in the selected countries and at identifying current or potential regional integration dynamics. It offers a significant amount of information on this merging sector as well as a comparative analysis of four countries, opening up to other regions in the world. The report concludes by presenting ten recommendations for a harmonious social and economic development of the sector as well as a better regional integration. Macarena Nuño, IPEMED Project Manager 7 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA SUMMARY E-COMMERCE FIRST appeared in 1994, with the on-line sale of Ten Summoner’s Tales, Sting’s fourth album. Twenty years later, e-commerce is spreading all over the world, with a volume estimated at USD 1,500 billion in 2014, according to eMarketer1. However, the Middle East and Africa still find themselves in a marginal position. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Africa remains the region with the lowest e-commerce penetration, with about 2.2 % of global B2C e-commerce in 2013. “Will e-commerce take off in Africa in 2015?” Such was the title of the Africa Telecom People symposium held on 8 and 9 October 2015 in Abidjan2. The present IPEMED study attempts to provide an answer to this question while explaining if, and in which conditions, Africa has started to develop a type of e-commerce that could foster social and economic development as well as regional integration. To do so, the study specified the types of e-commerce (FIGURE 1) and the seven categories of actors working in the sector. FIGURE 1 Actors and types of e-commerce Types of e-commerce: E-commerce actors: 1. Purchase of imported products (B2C) 1. Public authorities 2. Sale of national products (B2C) 2. Producers 3. Other B2C sites 3. Buyers 4. Commerce among individuals (C2C) 4. Digital sector 5. On-line adminstrative services (G2C) 5. Logistics 6. Commerce among professionals (B2B) 6. Distribution 7. Case of digital services 7. Finance Source : author The study first explains the methodology applied and then analyses each of the types of e-commerce in the four African countries, leading francophone Africa, which are Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ivory Coast. It highlights the significant differences between the four countries, each of them presenting strengths and weaknesses illustrated in TABLES 1 and 2 and the following comments. 1 www.emarketer.com/Article/Worldwide-Ecommerce-Sales-Increase-Nearly-20-2014/1011039 2 www.africatelecompeople.net 8 E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA TABLE 1 Key figures of the economy in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Ivory Coast (2014) Morocco Tunisia Senegal Ivory Coast Surface area (km²) 446,550 163,610 196,710 322,463 Population (thousand inhabitants) 33.92 10.99 14.67 22.16 Population growth (%) 1.4 1.0 3.1 2.4 Literacy rate in adults (%) (WHO, 2015) 67 80 50 57 GDP (thousands USD) 110 48.6 15.65 31.06 GDP/inhabitant
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