According to reports, almost 21 million African shoppers facilitated a market drive valued at US$5.7 billion in online sales in 2017. This information was revealed at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa are reported to have accounted for almost half of the e-commerce market in Africa. It is also worth noting that Mauritius was also highly ranked in the E-commerce Index, this shows how rapid Africa is adopting the Internet.
2018 has been an eventful year for African start-ups. These start-ups – from different sectors of technology Fintech, Edtech, Healthtech, logistics and Insurtech – had an exciting year in terms of backing. South African start-up, Jumo raised the highest with over $64.5 million. Click here to read our ranking of the top 10 start-ups with the biggest investments this year.
Instagram, yesterday confirms a bug mistakenly launched a change to its feed. This change replaced the usual scrolling with a new ‘horizontal tap-to-advance’, like with Stories. This did not go down well with most users as they immediately complained that the gesture is awkward and annoying. In a tweet this morning, they confirmed the bug and apologised for any inconvenience it had caused.
Facebook’s stock may possibly hit $160 in 2019 as the company’s income and user base have seen little effect from the reported data scandals and privacy issues this year, according to Short-seller Citron Research on Wednesday. The company’s shares rose as much as 4.4 percent to $129.57 after Citron’s report.
Vanu, a mobile communications solution announced a new initiative called VanuMaps, which is a mapping resource that provides details on places where connectivity is lacking and can be provided profitably across Africa, selected Asian countries and the rest of the world. This mapping tool will enable Vanu’s mobile network operator customers quickly and accurately identify communities in need and the most effective strategies to address their connectivity challenges.
And with this, we round up today’s Big 5 Daily, see you next week.