E-commerce is thriving in Africa and Southeast Asia. IFC leveraged data Jumia and Lazada, two of the largest e-commerce platforms in Africa and Southeast Asia respectively, and found that this growth could be even higher if we invest in women entrepreneurs on e-commerce platforms.
The reports ‘Women and E-commerce in Africa’ and ‘Women and E-commerce in Southeast Asia’ form the first large-scale research in both regions to show the extent of women’s participation in e-commerce and how online platforms can benefit women business owners. Most notably, the reports find that if the gap in sales between female and male vendors could be closed by 2025, an additional $280 billion would be added to the value of the Southeast Asian e-commerce market and $14.5 billion to the African e-commerce market between 2025 and 2030.
Alexa Roscoe 