How Covid-19 changed e-trade and what this year has in store

Last year witnessed profound challenges on every continent across the globe and Africa was no exception. Despite the Covid-19 and politics being well documented, we are reading far less on some of the positive outcomes of 2020 and there are many if you know the right place to look.

One such area is in laying the foundation for the rise in technology companies both in financial solutions (Fintech) and otherwise.

There have been some huge milestones that have occurred recently. Jumia one of the largest e-commerce outfits in Africa, listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.

In doing so, it became the first African startup to list on a major securities exchange and opened the world’s eyes to what can be achieved by a company that is, by its own admission, ‘100 percent Africa’.

Last year was also pivotal for the e-commerce firm, with the share price movement of the ‘Amazon of Africa’ growing from a 52-week low of $2.15 to currently trade at $40. This is a major achievement and a pleasant return for shareholders.

Events such as this on the global stage come with a lot of attention to the region.

It was also huge news in the Fintech space when Ugandan Ham Serunjogi and Ghanaian Maijid Moujaled’s firm Chipper Cash received further investment.

Chipper Cash app offers mobile-based, no fee, P2P payment services in seven countries: Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa and Kenya and raised a $30 million funding round led by Ribbit Capital with participation of Bezos Expeditions — the personal Venture Capitalist (VC) fund of Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos.

In my opinion, this is just scratching the surface of the investment coming to Africa.

Global VC firms are already interested in countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt.

We will see the interest from foreign investors widen much further in 2021, with other countries such as Rwanda and Ghana showing great promise.

At the last UK-Africa Investment Summit held in London, I witnessed this first-hand with the doors of investment fully open between the two regions.

Technology companies are normally created to help solve a problem, and in the current climate there are arguably more problems than ever that need urgent attention.

This is part of the reason why thousands of African start-ups are now coming to life, particularly in cities such as Nairobi and Cape Town.

All over Africa, but particularly in Nigeria, we are seeing a boom in companies focused on the Cryptocurrency space, riding on the renewed hyper-interest shown for Bitcoin.

A large proportion of these companies are focused on the finance sector generally, with many such as Equiti Group/ EGM Securities (fxPesa)- determined to help improve financial literacy for the ever-growing population.

Recent reports predict that population growth rates in Africa far outpace all other regions standing at 1.35 billion and moving to 4.4 billion by the end of the century. It is critical that this growing numbers are financially savvy and attentive to their financial futures.

So the challenges that this pandemic brings creates an opportunity like no other for certain industries and entrepreneurs.

Iconic companies such as AirBnb, Slack, Square and Whatsap were born in the last recession (2008-2010), and this pandemic and subsequent economic downturn will herald the same.

In the Fintech sector, the future is exceptionally bright and we will see more ‘unicorns’ (start-ups valued at $1 billion or more) springing up across the world and Africa will find its own representatives for that club.

I’m committed to servicing the financial needs of Africans, improving economic knowledge and in doing so adding to an industry that will be creating much-needed jobs well past this pandemic.

The writer is Equiti Capital chief xecutive officer. Twitter @bjmyersUK