From People to Packages

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the Pandemic by Shifting to Last-Mile Delivery
The effects of COVID-19 lockdowns and reduced disposable income have impacted business around the world, and arguably none have been affected more than companies working in consumer-focused sectors in Africa. The sector includes businesses ranging from food vendors to clothes retailers and other consumer goods providers, and as the pandemic has forced people across the region to avoid shopping centers and other crowded public spaces, these companies have faced grave challenges. This has exposed the urgent need to create and adopt a digital-first approach to work, shopping and other aspects of daily life in African italy whatsapp number data countries.

Here in the continent’s largest economy, Nigeria, some of the greatest COVID-related challenges we’ve faced have been the ad-hoc regulations and constantly changing restrictions implemented to fight the pandemic. It can be hard for consumers to know which stores are open, what restrictions to expect and what goods are available. This has fueled overnight pivots into e-commerce for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the country – and Nigeria is not alone. In the global e-commerce sector, Visa has projected that sales will reach $7 trillion by 2024, while Nigeria’s sector is expected to achieve a market volume of over $12.4 billion by 2025.

As an immediate solution to bridge the gap between business offerings and customer needs, thousands of entrepreneurs and SMEs across Nigeria have stepped into this new realm of e-commerce. For many enterprises this pivot has included last-mile delivery, creating exponential growth in the space despite the economic headwinds caused by the pandemic. Driven by fashion and food delivery – two of the most popular sectors when it comes to online shopping in Nigeria – e-commerce and last-mile delivery are on course to outpace many sectors within the country over the coming years.