The Role of a b2b commerce platform like Zandaux in Intra-African Trade.
Since internet penetration in Africa in the early 2000s, e-commerce has been by far the most adopted technology on the continent. The most dominant today is Jumia which was launched in 2012 in Nigeria with a focus on the B2C model. Almost all other major e-commerces that have followed such as Jiji, and Konga in East and West Africa and Takealot and Makro in South Africa have targeted the local retail sector. However, it would be inaccurate to state that no online b2b ordering platform has been developed.
The African e-commerce landscape such as Copia, Wasoko, Marketforce, Betastore, and many others have brought digitalization into b2b retail and social commerce. These digital b2b ordering platforms are basically facilitating the informal retailers to acquire supplies from local manufacturers and wholesalers through their platforms. Although these internet-powered b2b commerce platforms have helped mitigate some of the B2B shoppers' pain in terms of replenishment costs, a lot is still to be done in the sector. The recently launched Kenyan online b2b commerce platform Zandaux has brought a brand new model to the market.
Zandaux’s Digital b2b commerce platform as a Game Changer for the Intra-Africa Trade
For decades, economists from all over the world have argued that one of the most important issues undermining African economic development is the lack of trade linkages between countries. On the continent, the last decade was dominated by the debate on the benefits of intra-trade. This effort has led to the signing of the trade agreement in 2018, which then entered into effect in January 2021. Under the African Continental, Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) countries agreed to remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods, and progressively liberalize trade in services while addressing a host of other non-tariff barriers. With Zandaux’s digital b2b commerce platform provides African traders with visibility into all other markets within the continent. The b2b commerce platform offers a powerful means to establish long-term and sustainable trade linkages and opportunities within what is now available.
The Nairobi-based start-up was launched in March 2022 with one goal which is to help African entrepreneurs unlock the continent's full market potential. The b2b commerce platform is designed to assure that all African consumers regardless of the country will have access to all made-in-Africa products. Retail businesses and wholesale buyers across the continent will now have the option available to buy supplies from African factories directly regardless of the country of production. The start-up's multi-vendor b2b commerce platform is developed to help do just that. It gives African manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, suppliers, importers, and exporters an interface through which they can efficiently access all markets on the continent. By doing so, Zandaux is helping establish ever-stronger trade linkages which enable Africa to exchange goods, services, and other market information with itself.
The digital marketplace is equipped with features that allow a real-time B2B sales transaction to be negotiated and completed seamlessly between b2b sellers and buyers without third-party involvement. The buyer enjoys a fully digitalized sales purchasing process with all records kept as they wish in the buyer dashboard on one hand. The sellers on the other hand are armed with a robust dashboard to control and manage their store 24/7 while saying goodbye to manual sales administration. This is what makes a b2b ecommerce platform a very invaluable tool
In short, the Zandaux b2b ecommerce platform is a key tool that changes the way African businesses trade with each other. It provides visibility and market opportunities to all traders in an equal manner and opens the doors for perfect competition to prevail while preventing price speculation in the market.
