Profit-making idea: Open up cross-border e-commerce and delivery
Profit-making idea is a series of short posts, each with a piece of information that we think you might find useful: for investment, for growing your company or to start a new business. Read our previous posts here.
In a recent interview, we asked Desmond Koney, CEO of Complete Farmer, to name a business opportunity he would still like to pursue. Complete Farmer is an online Ghanaian platform that enables users to invest in, own and manage farms from the comfort of their homes. Here was Koney’s response:
“These are exciting times for entrepreneurship in Africa, and I think there are immense opportunities for entrepreneurs on the continent to take advantage of. One being distribution channels and payment systems. There is so much happening in other markets across the continent, yet all these solutions remain indigenous to the local communities because of the lack of distribution and payment channels, which makes it possible for entrepreneurs to access markets in other ecosystems. Depending on foreign channels makes it unattractive to do business with other African countries because this increases the cost of goods.
“This is a big opportunity to help bridge not just economies but also digital economies in e-commerce and for startups. If it is possible for me to buy products or to make purchases and get shipping at a cost-effective price from a startup in Kenya or Rwanda, and have the products delivered to my home in Ghana, I believe this would have significant implications in increasing the markets of startups, and the adaptation of solutions across the continent. Distribution and payment systems are big opportunities for budding entrepreneurs.”