Kilimall: The rise and success of African e-commerce platforms

Kilimall is the second largest e-commerce platform in Africa. It was founded in 2014 in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, by Yang Tao, an employee who had worked for Huawei. Since its inception, the platform has been launched in three countries: Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda. In May 2019, the number of registered users on the platform exceeded 10 million, and the number of App downloads reached 5 million.

Kilimall’s website has a particularly young style, targeting consumers between 20 and 30 years old. Hot-selling categories on the platform include 3C electronic products, fashion apparel, household products, small household appliances and maternal and infant products, which are very popular among young users. Behind its success, Yang Tao’s experience living in Africa and his deep understanding of the e-commerce market are inseparable. In 2012, Yang Tao was sent to Africa to work on the construction of mobile wallet systems for local operators. During this time, he experienced firsthand the inconveniences of local shopping, such as limited product selection and high prices. The price gap between China and Africa for the same commodity can reach 3 to 10 times.

It was this keen insight into market demand that led Yang Tao to resign from Huawei in 2014 and found Kilimall. He used his many years of payment gateway experience and the successful model of domestic e-commerce to establish a payment and logistics system suitable for the African market. Kilimall has quickly emerged as one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms in Africa in just one year since its launch, and has fiercely competed with Jumia.

Kilimall’s entrepreneurial story not only demonstrates the potential of e-commerce in the African market, but also provides inspiration and encouragement to other e-commerce entrepreneurs.