- Rwanda has been selected as the continental headquarters for the African E-commerce Group.
- The African Union’s decision was announced on June 7 during the Annual African Integration Day by its Department of Economic Development, Trade, and Mines.
Rwanda has been selected as the continental headquarters for the African E-commerce Group. The African Union’s decision was announced on June 7 during the Annual African Integration Day by its Department of Economic Development, Trade, and Mines.
The goal of the African E-commerce Group, a social enterprise, is to support 600,000 SMEs in Africa over the next five years. The main objective of this initiative is to provide a comprehensive e-commerce platform to strengthen the role of African SMEs in inter- and intra-African trade.
Speaking on this development, Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation stated that this decision should boost Rwanda’s vision of becoming an ICT and logistics hub in Africa. She emphasized that initiatives such as Smart Africa and the YouthConnekt Initiative are already hosted in Rwanda. Adding the African E-commerce Group is another initiative to continue supporting trade across the continent.
The headquarters facility in Rwanda will host its SME program, build a data center in the country which will facilitate reduced data hosting costs for SMEs. The facility is expected to create over 5,000 jobs in the next five years and will also help Rwandan SMEs expand beyond Rwanda’s borders by exporting “Made in Rwanda” products to other African countries.