In the “Smart Africa” pavilion of the third edition of the World Digital Commerce Expo held in east China’s Zhejiang province, Mafu, 27, was promoting Ethiopian coffee on the TikTok platform.
Her inspiring performance attracted the attention of many people. “I mainly present to foreign audiences the origin, unique characteristics and tasting techniques of our products, but above all, I highlight discounts and advantageous prices,” explained the young woman from South Africa.
About four months ago, Mafu arrived in China to study at the Hangzhou Vocational and Technical School. This opportunity arose as part of a one-year skilled personnel training program focused on cross-border e-commerce.
“I applied as soon as I saw the information online, and I was lucky enough to get in. E-commerce has been growing rapidly in South Africa, and I want to learn everything about this sector here in China,” she added.
Xie Jijuan, head of the program, said more than 200 African students have been trained through partnerships with several Chinese schools and universities, and more than half of them are already engaged in the e-commerce sector.
Training e-commerce talents is considered an important aspect to deepen China-Africa cooperation.
Speaking at the African Digital Commerce Day, a special event of the expo, Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of Commerce, noted that China and Africa have carried out fruitful cooperation in the field of e-commerce and in other areas in recent years. He also noted that the two sides have established a solid foundation for future collaboration in the digital economy.
Chinese companies have helped African countries build and upgrade the 150,000 km main communications network, providing Internet access to nearly 700 million users. Meanwhile, Chinese companies have also created mobile payment platforms serving tens of millions of people in Africa, according to a white paper titled “China and Africa in the New Era: An Equal Partnership.”
Many industry experts believe that the diffusion of digital technologies, the rise of e-commerce and the advancement of digital infrastructure have opened up unprecedented opportunities for Africa’s economic growth.
According to data from Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, the e-commerce industry in Africa was expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 24.7% over the past seven years, with a figure of The industry’s annual business is expected to exceed $42 billion in 2024, up from just $7.7 billion in 2017.
Additionally, by 2030, at least 88% of Africans will own a smartphone, with 50% having access to 4G and 17% to 5G, according to the latest report from the Global System for Mobile Communications.
In Uganda, digital trade has enabled thousands of small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and business owners to gain access to the international market.
“The development of cross-border e-commerce between China and Africa has enabled Ugandan products such as coffee, tea and handicrafts to enter the Chinese market and created more employment opportunities and development space for us,” explained Oliver Wonekha, Uganda’s ambassador to China, who judged that digital trade would be a strong point of cooperation between Africa and China in the future.
Several cooperation agreements were signed between China and African countries on the African Digital Trade Day, including plans to build a China-Africa digital trade platform, a co-creation plan for collaboration between Chinese and African media .
“Madagascar is at a critical stage of digital transformation, and we have a strong desire to work closely with Chinese companies and draw inspiration from China’s advanced experience in the digital economy,” said Jean Louis Robinson. , Ambassador of Madagascar to China.
He added that there is enormous potential and opportunities for cooperation between China and Africa, especially in e-commerce, digital infrastructure and technological innovation.
Themed “Digital Commerce, Global Access”, the third World Digital Commerce Expo was held from September 25 to 29 in Hangzhou, capital of China’s Zhejiang province. The event is currently the only national-level digital commerce theme exhibition in China. China’s digital industry has seen strong growth in recent years, recording a total revenue of 32.5 trillion yuan (about $4.6 trillion) in 2023.
