Kenya: the leader and transportation hub in East Africa’s e-commerce market

Kenya, located in eastern Africa, occupies an important position in the e-commerce sales market with its unique geographical advantages and transportation infrastructure. In 2019, the number of e-commerce users in Kenya reached 9.48 million, second only to Nigeria and South Africa. However, compared with these two countries, Kenya’s actual performance in e-commerce is not optimistic. According to data, in 2018, the total revenue of Kenya’s e-commerce market was only US$434 million. Despite this, Kenya’s e-commerce market continues to grow steadily. Statista’s predictions show that Kenya’s e-commerce market will double by 2023 and is expected to reach US$873 million. Although the growth rate is slow, the development momentum is obvious.

Kenya’s ability to rank among the top three e-commerce markets in Africa is partly due to its superior geographical location. This country is the gateway and transportation hub of Africa. It has the largest port in East Africa and its port’s trade radiation ability to neighboring countries is quite strong. This gives Kenya an advantage over other African countries in the construction of logistics facilities. Logistics issues have always been one of the main obstacles affecting the development of e-commerce in African countries.

In order to solve logistics problems, Kenya Post Company announced in 2019 that it will launch a new postal freight service, focusing on improving customs declaration and transportation links to ease the pressure on the import and export of goods and services. Once this plan is successfully implemented, it will inject strong impetus into the development of e-commerce in Kenya and further promote the growth and prosperity of the market.