Africa’s land size is as big as China, India, the United States and most of Europe combined. The population of more than 1.5 billion is further growing three times faster than global average.
The 54 different countries on continental Africa are very different in their economic development. What they have in common is a rapid growth of access to high-speed internet and a huge mobile-phone penetration. Considering that 70% of the Sub-Saharan population is younger than 30 years old with eagerness to access the global information and goods, fosters huge potential for e-commerce.
The e-commerce market volume is currently 107.2 billion USD and is expected to grow by 24.3% annually, with many markets demonstrating even faster growth. It’s forecasted that by the year 2029, the e-commerce market volume will reach 257.6 billion USD. In a continent where banking and card adoption is low, local Mobile Money payment solutions and wallets are present in many markets and are used by the local population for almost any payment (both POS and online). In fact, Africa is the biggest mobile money market in the world.
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Population 1.5 Bn -
Land size 30.4 M Km² -
Median age 19.7 Yr
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E-commerce volume 107.2 Bn USD -
E-commerce growth 24.3%
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People with mobile phone (% age 15+)90.8%
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People with internet access (% age 15+)55.7%
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People with bank account (% age 15+)34.1%
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People with credit or debit card (% age 15+)20%
- Mobile Money Users (490.7 M)
- Total population >15 years
Africa is a global region with the biggest potential for e-commerce in the upcoming decade. The huge and very young population is eager to buy things online, especially cross-border – both physical goods and digital goods. Online sales boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic and e-commerce in Africa is projected to grow a staggering 140% from 2025 to 2029.
In addition to growing e-commerce markets (most prominent being Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa), online sales are rapidly growing throughout almost all African countries and often reach growth rates of 20% and more.
This is supported by technological and infrastructure development initiatives: in many countries, mobile phone penetration exceeds 85% of the adult population. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that there are 1.5 billion mobile cellular subscriptions in Africa. In 2025, 75.6% of the total internet traffic in Africa was via mobile internet compared to 62.3% globally and 53.3% in Europe, showcasing the dominance of mobile phones usage on the African continent.
This also impacts the payment preferences. Access to bank accounts and cards is very low – with under 35% of adult Africans having a bank account. However, Africa is home to the most successful Mobile Money solutions worldwide. Telecom companies like Vodafone, Airtel, or Orange offer their millions of subscribers an easy way to pay both at POS and online. Africa currently has over 1 billion registered Mobile Money accounts, an increase of 13% over the previous year.
While cross-border e-commerce in Africa still bears a lot of complexities and restrictions with regards to money-remittance or general legal frameworks, national governments in many countries have initiatives to change legislation to make cross-border e-commerce easier. This will just further increase the potential of sustainable and high growth potential.
