Brief
South African e‑commerce firms urged to tailor checkout for each African market
TDMC CEO Cheryl Ingram outlines five lessons for African e‑commerce, warning that treating Africa as one market hinders growth.
By Felo News Desk · Published
South African digital agency TDMC says African brands need to stop treating the continent as a single market and instead customise pricing, payment and delivery for each country. The advice comes as the United States’ African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was extended only to 2028 and a 12.5% tariff under Section 301 has applied to South African goods since 24 July, making US market planning harder.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly margins, AfCFTA Secretary‑General Wamkele Mene warned that Africa’s digital economy could generate more than $700 bn by 2035 if regulatory barriers to cross‑border payments, customer verification and data transfer are removed. TDMC’s chief executive Cheryl Ingram said those barriers appear long before customs, noting that “for an online brand, crossing into Botswana, Kenya or Zambia is decided at the checkout.”
Ingram outlined five practical lessons learned from running e‑commerce across 15 African markets for over 120 brands. First, price for the shopper, not the spreadsheet: converting rand prices at the day’s exchange rate is insufficient; local price anchors and competitor pricing matter. Second, the checkout follows the wallet: payment methods must match local habits, otherwise shoppers abandon carts. Third, delivery promises are brand promises: reliability outweighs price in many markets. The fourth and fifth lessons, not fully quoted in the source, continue the theme of localisation and data compliance.
TDMC recently secured a strategic 30 % stake from CA&S Group, with a pathway to majority ownership, pairing CA&S’s physical route‑to‑market scale with TDMC’s digital commerce expertise in Southern and East Africa.
Key facts
- AGOA was extended to 2028, shorter than the 15 years South Africa sought. (bizcommunity.com)
- A 12.5% tariff under US Section 301 has applied to South African goods since 24 July. (bizcommunity.com)
- AfCFTA Secretary‑General Wamkele Mene said Africa’s digital economy could generate over $700 bn by 2035 if regulatory barriers are removed. (bizcommunity.com)
- TDMC CEO Cheryl Ingram advises pricing, payment and delivery must be localised for each African market. (bizcommunity.com)
- TDMC took a 30 % strategic stake from CA&S Group, aiming for majority ownership. (bizcommunity.com)
Sources
- [1] bizcommunity.com — originally reported as “The border is at the checkout, not the map: 5 lessons from running e-commerce across Africa - TDMC”
