African e-commerce platform Kikuu: analysis of its rise and development strategy

Kikuu was founded in 2015. It is an e-commerce platform founded by Chinese people and aims to meet the needs of white-collar workers and young consumers through a variety of products. Kikuu has a wide range of products, covering best-selling categories such as fashion shoes, clothing, watches, jewelry, and children’s toys.

During the development process, Kikuu faced strong challenges from competitors Jumia and Kilimall. Although Kilimall has achieved some success, that doesn’t mean Kikuu can avoid the obstacles that the former has experienced. In order to stand out from the competition, Kikuu’s partners actively visited multiple African countries and conducted in-depth research on the culture, economy and consumption habits of each country to formulate a unique development strategy that suits them.

Kikuu’s annual sales increased from US$200,000 to US$1.2 million in 2018, achieving 600% growth. This achievement allowed it to successfully maintain breakeven and rank among the top apps in Ghana and Tanzania. Ranking among the best shows its strong performance in the African market – it can be called the fastest growing e-commerce platform in Africa.

In order to further consolidate its market position, Kikuu has set its goal to create an African version of “Alibaba”. In this process, the platform first borrowed from Alibaba’s logistics system and later launched its own payment system, K-Pay. So far, Kikuu has established complete logistics and distribution centers in 9 countries including Ghana, effectively solving the “last mile” distribution problem of e-commerce.

Through careful market research and flexible strategic adjustments, Kikuu is moving towards the goal of becoming a leader in the African e-commerce field.