Opportunities and Publications

SA Innovation Summit goes virtual:

Apply for the Africa Cup and the Inventors Garage at the 2020 SAIS!Africa’s largest tech startup event will be going online in 2020. Early Bird tickets have just launched. This is a great opportunity for Incubators & Accelerators to purchase tickets for their cohorts to put what they learn during their programmes into real-life practice and experiences. Learn more here.

A highlight of the SA Innovation Summit that allows innovators, inventors and unique creative thinkers to showcase their innovative talent. The Inventors Garage is an opportunity for entrepreneurs with a working prototype or product from a proven concept to pre-commercialization to gain access to funding or incubation, market exposure and business support at the virtual edition of the SA Innovation Summit 2020. Apply here.
The Africa Cup is a competition that holds at the annual SA Innovation Summit for startups in all tech-enabled sectors from around the world to showcase their products and services, gain market exposure, and secure support and investment.  Apply and learn more here.

ITC Business Community 

The COVID-19 outbreak is causing a global health emergency, and a global economic slowdown. Trade, investment, growth, and employment are all affected, and the crisis will have an impact on the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The International Trade Centre which is  the only international organization fully dedicated to supporting the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises is closely following how the pandemic is affecting SMEs with a particular focus on developing countries. ITC business community site is building an unrivalled network of experts-problem-solvers to identify, review and share business best practices. http://www.intracen.org/covid19/business-community/?utm_source=eTrade_for_all&utm_campaign=1fe8fecaf9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_10_28_02_04_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_811eaa7a6f-1fe8fecaf9-70491565 This will also be a useful resource for business support organizations and policymakers assisting SMEs by –

• Identify the best practices relevant to your business by theme, product and country
• Review the best practices addressing specific issues faced by your business
• Share the best practices to deal with the shock and to support others 

Help needed on SA/DRC Trade

A member of our Young Ecommerce Africa WhatsApp group has told us that his MBA research project is on evaluating the potential impact of the digital economy on the African Free Trade Area, focusing on DRC and South Africa bilateral trade. Please let me know ([email protected]) if you are interested in the topic and willing to share information. I will pass your details on.

The Future is Female mentorship programme

C. Moore Media International Public Relations has announced the launch of The Future is Female mentorship program which aims to provide  African female founders of early-stage start-ups with the PR and communications insights, knowledge, and skills needed to gain visibility and grow their business. See – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdKr_IgWyyQhv9jOwXDM78wftCmrxqCGLa1O5efUuOmq79_gQ/viewform

Ecommerce Foundation Publishes New Country Report

 Germany 2020 Ecommerce Country Report has a full in-depth analysis of one of Europe’s largest B2C ecommerce markets, including insight into connectivity, digital readiness and device usage. The report features more than 28 detailed charts and graphs that explore German ecommerce. We look at 3 charts that highlight the reasons for shopping online, the effects of COVID-19 and how German shoppers pay for their purchases.

Ecommerce Foundation Beauty & Cosmetics 2020: Sector Analyst Report

The latest sector analyst report from the Ecommerce Foundation provides an authoritative picture of leading beauty companies, takes an in-depth look at the global market and explores how the beauty and cosmetics sector is likely to develop in the years ahead. It charts the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has accelerated brands’ digital strategies as they try to keep up with consumer demand online as physical channels close; explores the increasing sales of clean cosmetics and skincare products as an overflow from the wellness trend and as consumers’ concern for the environment increases, and analyses the role of social media influencers to disrupt the sector.

Retailers can download the full report for FREE by using your work email address at the checkout or purchased for €800. Download Beauty & Cosmetics 2020

The Ecommerce Tips of the Month

1. Instagram is a hotspot for building an audience and selling products. Each image caption allows up to 2,200 characters, or roughly 300 words, to address your products and brand. https://www.practicalecommerce.com/writing-instagram-captions-to-drive-sales Source: Practical Commerce;
2. Using a 3PL provider can do a few things for your business: they store your products for you; take care of inventory management; pack your orders; ship orders out; usually have discounted shipping rates that save you money, and some can even handle returns. This is an investment opportunity, there are not many 3PL operators in Africa https://www.abetterlemonadestand.com/3pl-logistics-fulfillment/?_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJpaWRyaXNhbkB5YWhvby5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJlTDhNNEsifQ%3D%3D
3. Measuring marketing outcomes – the Google Analytics measurement plan is a means by which you can align business objectives with analytics reports and configuration. See – https://www.practicalecommerce.com/whats-your-plan-for-measuring-marketing-outcomes
4. Saying sorry – A study conducted by Carey School of Business and others answers the question, what to do if you screw up? 1. 37% of customers are satisfied with service recovery when they are offered something of monetary value (e.g., a refund or credit), but when the business adds an apology on top of the compensation, satisfaction doubles to 74%. That means saying “Sorry” wins back 37% of your dissatisfied customers. Sadly 58% of customers do not get an apology – and that usually means lost customers!