Photograph — The Nerve Africa

International shipping, courier and packaging company, DHL Express has announced the expansion of its e-commerce platform “DHL Africa eShop” across Africa. Launched in April, the e-commerce platform currently operates in several countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana, where it has recorded massive success.

“The uptake and usage of this platform over the past seven weeks has been incredible, with exponential growth in subscribers and physical orders,” said Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express sub-Saharan Africa.

Heymans also added that DHL will now be present in nine more countries. “Based on this rapid growth and the positive feedback that we have received from the market, DHL Express has decided to proceed to the next phase of the rollout as quickly as possible. The platform is now live for consumers in Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.”

This latest move is a good step for the company and is likely to pose a threat to other e-commerce brands like Jumia and Konga. With Jumia just concluding the battle to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), DHL’s expansion will only intensify competition in the e-commerce space.

The newly launched innovative mobile and desktop platform enables Africans to shop directly from over 200 online retailers in the United States and the United Kingdom. This will be delivered by the logistics company in no time. Over the years, DHL has operated in the business of fast delivery, therefore its expertise will go a long way in boosting the online shopping platform.

The Africa eShop platform also uses several payment options including local FinTech companies such as Kenya’s M-Pesa and Nigeria’s Paga.

“As the global leader in express logistics, DHL is well positioned to connect African consumers with these exciting global brands. We are committed to driving e-commerce growth on the continent on all fronts. We work with thousands of e-commerce brands in Africa and help them to reach global customers, and now with our DHL Africa eShop, we also connect African consumer to global brands,” Heymans concluded.

A report by Mckinsey Global Institute has projected that eCommerce will be worth $75 billion in Africa’s leading economies by 2025. DHL is so far positioning itself to be a part of this emerging market.

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