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• Web savvy Africans fuel growth in online shopping

  Posted by admin October 11, 2011 - 284 views - Filed in Black News - #Nigeria  #South Africa  #Africa  #Kenya  #Online Shopping 
  

  (CNN) -- Armed with her mobile phone, Temiloluwa Akinremi embarks on her daily online routine, scouring the internet to keep up-to-date with what's happening in her city of Lagos, Nigeria.

  But these days, along with her daily dose of news and e-mail, Akinremi's web expedition also involves one of her favorite pastimes: shopping.

  "I go online every day," says Akinremi, a 26-year-old store manager, "to check for something, to just see if I can get whatever I want to buy. Online shopping saves you time and money because it is cheaper and fast," she adds.

  Akinremi is among a growing generation of young, internet-savvy Africans who have embraced new technology, driving efforts in the continent to bridge the gap between the virtual and real worlds.

  According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), internet-user penetration in sub-Saharan Africa has grown from 0.5% in 2000 to 10.6% last year.

  Although the figure is still far behind the world average of about 30%, an increasing number of Africans are becoming more familiar with online shopping.

  Both the proliferation of mobile phones and the rollout of faster internet networks -- like the fiber-optic cables launched in areas such as east Africa -- have helped the expansion of e-commerce activities in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

  The market is still at an infant stage, although with huge potential to explode in the next five years.
  Loy Okezie, founder of Techloy.com

  In South Africa, 51% of those with access to the internet are shopping online, according to a 2011 MasterCard Worldwide survey. In Kenya, a recent survey by TNS Research International and the Kenya ICT Board found that 18% and 24% of the 1,700 respondents go online to purchase music and movies, and electronic books.

  In Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, internet penetration is at about 28%,according to ITU figures, boosted by the rapid growth in the country's telecoms sector. In recent years, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions has skyrocketed from 30,000 in 2000 to over 87 million in 2010.

  
  

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