One of the few things that Charlyn Kentaro cannot share on Instagram is the scent of her workshop, fragrant with eucalyptus, peppermint and shea butter. Almost everything else she posts online, where she shows off her natural hair products and swaps styling tips with other women in Uganda and beyond. Most of her sales come from social media, which she describes as a “godsend”. Orders come in through direct messages or by WhatsApp. She ships them out herself in packaging inspired by colourful African kitenge cloth.
This way of using social media to sell products is called “social commerce” by business wonks. It might also be thought of as the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to online business. Everything from marketing to delivery and payment is managed by the vendor through his or her smartphone. That is no easy task in many African countries, which lack functioning postal systems and where most people do not have bank accounts or even a postal address.
Social commerce prompts the same question as all DIY: why not get someone else to do it? After all, Africa has several Amazon-style retail platforms which can handle logistics and simplify payment. But those are not very popular, finds a recent survey by the GSMA, an association of mobile-phone operators, that tracked small businesses trading online in six African countries. In Ghana and Ethiopia, three-quarters of respondents sell exclusively through social media; only in South Africa do a majority use online marketplaces too.
Many entrepreneurs start with WhatsApp, where they create chat groups advertising their wares to friends. They might use the status bar to promote new products or their contacts list to keep track of customer preferences, says Mark Wensley of Caribou Digital, a research firm. As business grows they can find a wider audience on Facebook or Instagram. A trusted motorbike driver might deliver goods. Payment is sometimes done through a bank transfer or mobile money, although cash-on-delivery is the most popular choice.
One reason to do it yourself is that it is free. Online marketplaces charge commission, typically around 5-20% of the sale price. Services like WhatsApp and Facebook are also familiar to potential customers. But perhaps the most important motive to use social media is trust, which small businesses identify as the biggest barrier to customers shopping online. Many Africans are wary of buying from strangers, especially in countries where consumer protection is weak. Social media have a personal touch that faceless retail platforms lack.
Some startups are trying to build on that appeal. “People buy based on trust and relationships, not necessarily based on brands,” says Felix Manford, a Ghanaian entrepreneur who co-founded Tendo, a platform that connects suppliers to traders, in 2021. Users of its app select a product they wish to sell, then receive images and a personalised payment link which they can post on their social media. Another example is Vendorstack, in Nigeria, which helps small businesses create their own web page to chat with customers and sell online, backed by verification and escrow accounts to reduce fraud. If social commerce is DIY, then these apps are like flatpack furniture, offering ready-made parts that anyone can assemble.
Meanwhile online marketplaces in Africa are still searching for the right model. The biggest is Jumia, which listed on the New York stock exchange in 2019, but has never turned a profit. Its third-quarter results, out earlier this month, showed a $15m loss on revenue of just $45m. One way it is trying to turn things round is by pushing into smaller cities, helped by agents who sell on commission, often using WhatsApp or Facebook. “We don’t see social commerce as competition against our marketplace,” says Francis Dufay, its chief executive, arguing that Jumia’s reach allows successful businesses to expand.
Whatever their size, Africa’s online vendors must grapple with expensive data, potholed roads and officious politicians. In Uganda the government has blocked Facebook since a contentious election in 2021. An association of traders is threatening to sue the government for lost earnings. One of them is Justus Agaba, a carpet salesman, who was doing a roaring trade on the site but says that business has now “reduced to zero”. Doing-it-yourself is difficult when the government takes away your toolbox. ■