Senegal: E-commerce to fight unemployment

Since 2014, online commerce platforms have been gaining popularity in Senegal, presenting opportunities for many unemployed young people.

Employees in these firms are mostly young innovators under the age of thirty. They sit in front of their computers, all set to respond to client queries. For some players in the sector, E-Commerce represents a huge potential employment avenue for most young people in Africa.

“This is an opportunity for young people to work in this new sector which is booming all over the world, especially in Africa. Today in Senegal, there are 14 million people and 5 million permanent internet users. So this is a very interesting market for customers and for the labor market, that offers many opportunities for young people,” an expert said.

Online shopping is slowly but surely carving its niche into the Senegalese consumer habits.

Senegal e-commerce pioneers #Africa #Trade pic.twitter.com/ZAzquTccXA

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Similar to what happens in developed countries, online commerce is playing an increasingly important role alongside traditional trade.

One study has found that by 2025, e-commerce could represent 10% of retail sales in Africa’s largest economies. The study also estimates that there could be about 600 million active online consumers in the next ten years.

“As players of e-commerce in Africa, we are very optimistic, we think that things will improve more and more. It is true that presently, things are very difficult because we are in a learning phase while still educating the population on online shopping. But in 10 years, E-Commerce should occupy an important place in the lives of Africans,” he added.

Despite the sector’s huge potential in job creation, Senegal and Africa in general are still at the infancy stages of e-commerce.

To overcome this, the authorities of the Ministry of Youth and Employment in the country, plan to set up credit lines to support Senegalese entrepreneurs who wish to venture into this sector.