DHL Takes eShop to More African Markets

After the initial success recorded by its e-commerce platform, eShop, DHL Africa is looking at entering more African markets.

When it started the platform, DHL Africa launched the app in 11 countries across Sub Saharan Africa, with impressive growth recorded in first seven weeks.

A statement from the company said the innovative mobile and desktop platform has now been rolled out in nine more countries across the continent.

Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, says that they’ve seen impressive growth in usage of the DHL Africa eShop app since it was initially brought online in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Malawi, Botswana, Sierra Leone and Uganda in April this year.

“The uptake and usage of this platform over the past seven weeks has been incredible, with exponential growth in subscribers and physical orders. Based on this rapid growth and the positive feedback that we have received from the market, DHL Express has decided to proceed to the next phase of the rollout as quickly as possible. The platform is now live for consumers in in Cameroon, Democratic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.”

The DHL Africa eShop enables African customers to shop directly from over 200 US- and UK-based online retailers, with purchases delivered to their door, by DHL Express. This solution was developed in partnership with Link Commerce – a division of Mall for Africa.

Heymans notes that there is a growing demand for world-class online retail services in Africa. “As one report by the McKinsey Global Institute shows, Africa has a fast-growing middle-class consumer market which is embracing the internet at an astonishing rate. By 2025, the projected internet market penetration is expected to reach around 50% for the continent, with around 360 million smartphones expected to be in circulation. DHL Africa eShop provides the perfect solution for African consumers to access global brands.”

The DHL Africa eShop app offers African consumers unprecedented access to international retailers on an easy-to-use platform, with great convenience and speed. It also enables many global brands to connect with a captive African market – markets that were often overlooked due to the perception of high complexity and uncertainty.

“As the global leader in express logistics, DHL is well positioned to connect African consumers with these exciting global brands. We are committed to driving e-commerce growth on the continent on all fronts. We work with thousands of e-commerce brands in Africa, and help them to reach global customers, and now with our DHL Africa eShop, we also connect African consumer to global brands,” concludes Heymans.