Girl Power: The Female Entrepreneurs Tapping into Africa’s E-Commerce Boom

Across Africa, ambitious entrepreneurs are cashing in on the continent’s thriving e-commerce sector and establishing themselves in global markets. We meet four successful female entrepreneurs who have joined Africa's online revolution. Learn how they set up their online businesses and found success at an international level.

CREATE: START WITH PASSION

“Seaweed is my life,” says Mary Jone Ngalio. She’s not exaggerating. So passionate was she about the health benefits of seaweed – it contains 92 of the 102 minerals that the body needs – that she was inspired to create a business out of it. Today, she and her team farm the magical algae in their home country of Zanzibar and turn it into soap for customers across the world.

LAUNCH: GO VIRAL

Hamamat grew up in a small village in Ghana but had big ambitions to share her handmade shea butter with the world. So, she made a short film telling the story behind the product, which quickly went viral. And, after launching her e-commerce website, she sold out in three days! Today she ships to customers all over the world, who discover her product online – the business currently has over 1.1 million followers on Instagram alone! Real proof that for SMBs, social media is the gateway to the world.

DEVELOP: PARTNER WITH AN INTERNATIONAL EXPERT

After graduating from fashion school in New York, Kunbi Tomori headed home to Nigeria with a dream to launch her own line of womenswear. On her journey towards her goal, she faced many challenges including power shortages, sourcing suppliers, and shipping to international customers. Today, it’s a much slicker operation – by partnering with DHL, she is able to offer customers around the world a guaranteed, door-to-door service.  

GROW: THINK BIG

Fashion designer Toluwani Wabara used to make clothes for her friends and family, but they proved so popular she turned her passion into a business. In its early days, she struggled to ship to international customers on time, but after partnering with DHL, things quickly changed. She has since had her clothes worn by celebrities, showcased at Fashion Week, and is a step closer to her goal of getting one million people across the world wearing her designs.