Up, up and online for Africa's retail industry

Event highlights include an expert-led advisory panel which includes Raphael Afaedor, Co-Founder of Jumia, and CEO and Co-Founder of Supermart; Jaco Jonker, CEO of bidorbuy.co.za; and Paul Galatis, Director of Yuppiechef.com.

In a recent report released by the International World Statistics, the number of Internet users on the African continent has grown at seven times the global average, hitting a 3,600% growth between 2000 and 2012, to 167 million users. This of course means that there are over 3 billion people on the Internet at any given time, and that only 40% of the world today is connected to the Internet. The report goes on to state that the first billion users was only achieved in 2005, the second in 2010, and the third in 2014.

The report also revealed that, globally, mobile broadband would see a growth of 32% by the end of 2014 with a 21% penetration in developing countries. With Africa leading the growth at close to 20% in 2014, it is no wonder e-commerce is dominating the headlines, and marketing strategies.

From FMCG to manufacturing and luxury goods, industries across the board are successfully moving their enterprise forward into a new domain and into the e-commerce space. Developing their own online retail platforms, companies are aiming to produce a rich, user-centric and consumer-focused online retail experience, which matches their expectations.

Displaying over 30 solution providers, the event offers access to best-of-breed technology, applications, and solutions to help your business build a more robust e-commerce site, attract and convert web traffic, and deliver a greater customer experience.

Some exhibitors and sponsors include FNB, Dimension Data, iGroup, Trustwave South Africa, Amazon Web Services, PayPal, PayFast, Nedbank, BuyDirect, RAM Couriers, and AWA Digital and eSolutions. Exhibition and tech demo session tickets cost R120 per person.

For more information, visit: www.ecommerce-africa.com. Follow the event and stay up-to-date on Twitter @eCommerceConfex and join in on the conversation using #eComConfex.