Digital trade in Africa

As part of the African Union eCommerce Conference held between the 23rd and 25th of November, RIS presented the findings of its report on Digital Trade and the Digital Economy in Africa. Africa’s trade in digitally-delivered services is tiny, at below 1% of total trade. Online services provided by governments to citizens are also at low levels. This is not surprising, given the weak performance in the enabling platforms of IDs, payments and connectivity. But, these poor rankings show that there is great scope for improvement, and relatively small changes can have big results. Africa’s opportunity lies in combining the benefits of the 4th industrial revolution with further regional integration. Making it easier to trade between African countries, or even creating a free trade area for all of Africa, increases the market for digital products and services and enables new pan-African business models and value chains to evolve and compete globally. The presentation provides an overview of the key recommendations and how Africa can fast-track digital trade. Download the report.