Posts by Alastair Tempest

In a report earlier this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called the AfCFTA  free-trade agreement a “game changer” if African governments are able to bring down tariffs and boost…

We have reported on this new initiative, set up following the WTO’s summit in Argentina at the end of 2017. Called the “JSI”, the initiative is designed to reduce barriers…

I attended the joint UCT Marketing Institute and M&C Saatchi Abel’s new study into South Africa’s top million households on 10 September. The report considers that the top million South…

Our series of interviews with Women and Ecommerce arranged by our EFA Board Member, Mpho Sekwele, has proved extremely popular. This month to celebrate Women’s Month, Mpho did one interview…

The great Seth Godin said recently: “Online marketing has become a messy mix of direct marketing, SEO, tricks, tips, code and guesswork. It’s an always-moving target and it’s mostly focused…

I wrote last year about the South Eastern Mediterranean eCommerce & Digital Marketing Expo. This year the event will take place in Greece in November 2019, and will include the…

In another bit of news, Jumia, the largest ecommerce operator in Africa, has agreed a click-and-collect partnership with Vivo Energy, owner of Engen and Shell-branded petrol stations across Africa. Jumia…

The latest from Facebook is that it is developing a new app. ‘Threads’ has been designed as a companion app to Instagram, and invites users automatically to share their location,…

Our ex-Trade Minister, Dr Rob Davies always used to say that ecommerce introduced globalization through the backdoor, and was threatening African business with the power of the “GAAFAs” (Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook…

A 95% spike in ecommerce returns is prompting brands from Amazon to Nordstrom to re-evaluate lenient return policies. It is said that 10% of online returns are donated or incinerated,…