During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Africans started online businesses, as many lost their jobs or got pay-cuts. People sought ways to earn more by selling imported or locally manufactured products online, especially on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and even more recently, TikTok.
The Opportunity for Online Businesses in Africa
Many Africans have discovered that they can make money online, even in full-time employment. Those who lost their jobs have found temporal means to earn more cash while looking for a more consistent source of income. There are many opportunities for the African online market which many African online entrepreneurs are yet to discover. Online entrepreneurs in Africa are earning significantly lower than they could have potentially earned.
Three Ways to Earn More as an Online Business in Africa
- Re-Focus & Think Big
Many online businesses in Africa only think small. What do I mean by this? Side hustlers or new and even existing online entrepreneurs only think about selling to their contacts on their WhatsApp status, family members, friends, their community, schoolmates, or just one region. When in fact, being online means – there should be no borders. Therefore, you should be able to sell to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and make more money quicker and faster even than what your actual job pays you.
Many online sellers struggle to sell to clients outside their region or country. Those who try to sell to clients in other regions, request for payment-before-delivery, discouraging 1 in 2 clients to buy due to low trust levels in the market. Fortunately, African businesses can leverage the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, to sell to 1.2 billion customers. Sadly, this is not utilized.
There is an enormous opportunity for African businesses to make significantly more than their current profit margins. It can start by making it possible for clients in other regions and countries to pay cash-on-delivery. Also, businesses can have their products closer to their customers to avoid high delivery charges. It will encourage more customer purchases with fewer wait times for products.
To think big, grow big, achieve higher profit margins, and reach wider customers, you will need a fulfilment partner. Many online businesses try to do everything by themselves when all they need is a fulfilment partner that will help them grow. A fulfilment partner stores all your products in facilities closer to all your clients, irrespective of their location, and allows you to track all your inventory remotely. In addition, a fulfilment partner can receive payments on delivery, on behalf of the online seller. As a business, your customers can enjoy affordable delivery rates.
Even though the fulfilment sector seems like a new concept in Africa, it has been driving e-commerce in the West for almost two decades. VDL Fulfilment is already supporting many entrepreneurs to grow big and has already distributed over $100,000 in remittance to businesses that want to grow. Surprisingly, VDL Fulfilment offers its technology and services at a very low cost to online businesses. VDL Fulfilment is an African fulfilment partner that only makes money when its business vendors make money. Check out its mind-blowing pricing packages.
Stay tuned for the next 2 article releases on steps 2 and 3 to earn more as an online business in Africa.