Nigeria emerges Africa’s biggest e-commerce market. 2 other things and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Nigeria emerges Africa’s biggest e-commerce market

Nigeria has been named Africa’s biggest e-commerce market by PayU, a fintech company that provides payment technology to online merchants.

This was contained in a report published by the company on Thursday, April 29 on the growth of e-commerce in Africa.

According to the report, South Africa’s e-commerce rose 35% as Nigeria emerged Africa’s biggest e-commerce market.

Coming close to South Africa was Kenya, described as being primed for massive growth.

The report revealed that multiple factors brought about the recent acceleration, bringing African countries to an e-commerce adoption tipping point.

The report reads:

“This is particularly true for merchants in fashion, beauty, education, and digital goods.

“This evolution has seen the emergence of more digitally savvy shoppers with strong demand for globally sourced goods and services in regions where parts of the population have access to increasing disposable income.

“These factors make Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa particularly interesting for emerging e-commerce leaders from outside these markets.

Tech Trivia: What’s the world’s most expensive medical device?
A. Particle Accelerator
B. CAT scanner
C. Robot Surgical Machine
D. MRI
Answer: See end of post.

2. City of Cape Town launches online Jobs Connect 

The City of Cape Town (COCT) Enterprise and Investment Department has launched a new digital work placement initiative called Jobs Connect.

The initiative aims to create employment opportunities for Capetonians, connect SMMEs and corporates to a pool of local talent and provide training to disadvantaged residents.

Speaking on the development, James Vos, the Mayco member for the Economic Opportunities and Asset Management Directorate for COCT explained that the initiative aims to bridge a gap in the employment sector in terms of connecting businesses with employable individuals.

He said: “On behalf of the City, in my capacity as Mayco Member for the Economic Opportunities and Asset Management Directorate, I look for initiatives that will foster real economic growth and sustenance for the people of Cape Town.

“Often in my interactions with businesses, one of their biggest struggles is sourcing the talent and skills that they need to maintain and grow their operations.

“At the same time, we have many thousands of people who are eager to work, but who haven’t received enough training or guidance in how to make themselves attractive to companies or quite simply don’t know that these opportunities exist.

“This is why the directorate and I came up with Jobs Connect, to answer both needs.”

3. Egyptian car parts marketplace Odiggo hits milestone of 1m users

Digital marketplace for automotive spare parts, Odiggo, has hit one million users milestone.

The startup made the announcement while unveiling plans to commence its international expansion.

Three year old Odiggo links customers with vendors in order to purchase car parts and accessories.

Today, the startup ensures users get the correct, best quality car parts at a convenient time, by allowing them to simply add their car information and location on Odiggo app and see what services and parts are available in their area.

Co-founder Ahmed Omar, who spoke on the development, noted that the success recorded can be attributed to its strategy of subsidising services for merchants.

He said: “We have an inspiring story as we had no funds building the company.

“We worked with the merchants to subsidise the marketing and give us higher margins, and we were growing 40 per cent month-on-month.

“We built the team four times, and the app three times, to get the best outcome and the best user experience.”

Tech Trivia Answer: Particle Accelerator

A particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to incite charged particles to extremely high speeds and energies and to capture them in a nicely-defined beam. It is used for the treatment of cancer and the diagnosis of many diseases.

The equipment is priced at $100+ million.