August 22, 2017—eBay Inc., a global commerce leader, and Mall for Africa, Africa’s award-winning global e-commerce and m-commerce platform, announced a strategic partnership today that further boosts the sale of handmade African products into the United States. The partnership expands upon an existing relationship between the two companies, which allows Africans the ability to purchase items from eBayforAfrica.com or directly through the Mall for Africa app.
Mall for Africa and eBay will now provide Africans in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and Burundi a new platform to sell their one-of-a-kind artisan products into the U.S. The inventory will be surfaced on the Mall for Africa store on eBay.com, allowing sellers to expand their businesses and increase brand awareness. To start, product categories will include fashion, art & collectibles, jewelry, and clothing. Expansion into other categories and additional African countries will occur in the upcoming months.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with extending our partnership with eBay as we empower, expose, and positively affect thousands of hard-working artisans while making it convenient for US shoppers to purchase African-made products that would otherwise be unavailable to them,” said Chris Folayan, CEO of Mall for Africa. “As someone who grew up in Africa, became an entrepreneur, and who currently does business in Africa, I know first-hand the importance of cross-border trade and having the opportunity to expand a business internationally.”
Mall for Africa’s long-time shipping partner, DHL, will be responsible for all shipping needs. The seller simply packs the product, prints the label, and drops the package off at DHL’s nearest drop-off location. Last February, DHL published research that indicated a significant forthcoming increase in cross-border e-commerce sales. It also asserts that in 2020, 1 out of 5 e-commerce dollars will be generated cross-border and the market is anticipated to grow at 25% annually—almost twice the rate of domestic e-commerce.
“eBay’s vision for commerce is one that is enabled by people, powered by technology, and open to everyone,” said Sylvie De Wever, eBay’s General Manager of Latin America and US Exports. “This expanded relationship with Mall for Africa will not only bring great inventory and more selection to our marketplace, but will also create greater economic opportunity for African artisans looking to expand their reach.”
Mall for Africa provides African consumers a platform to purchase items directly from over 200 of the best US and UK retailers in the world. As a leader in the industry, MFA manages every step of the order process, offering its customers a simple, secure and convenient solution to online shopping.
About Mall for Africa
Founded in 2011, Mall for Africa (MFA) is an award-winning global e-commerce company which enables Africans to purchase products from more than 200 US and UK retailers. Continuing with its mission to allow customers to "shop global, pickup local" the company plans to enter 20 new countries over the next two years. With its proprietary platform and guaranteed payment system, Mall for Africa is the first-ever logistics, product delivery, payment, and e-commerce integration company offering consumers billions of products with zero inventory. For more information www.MallforAfrica.com.
About eBay Inc.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2016, eBay enabled $84 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com