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Afrikrea Launches ANKA to Power Global E-Commerce for Africa

May 1, 2021

The e-commerce platform for “all things made of Africa” Afrikrea,is launching ANKA – an all-in one SaaS solution to provide seamless e-commerce, payments and global shipping online service for thousands of micro retailers and businesses on the continent and around the world, as it continues to power e-commerce for Africa. Launched to coincide with Afrikrea’s fifth anniversary of operations, ANKA (meaning “Ours” in Bambara and Djoula) allows merchants to easily:

Moulaye Taboure Co-Founder and CEO of Afrikrea

Sell via a customized online storefront (like Shopify), social media platforms or by links such as on Gumroad and also the Afrikrea marketplace. This is carried out via an omnichannel dashboard with a single inventory, orders and messages management.

With just 2 clicks, international shipping is offered at the best rates with the best partners. For instance, a 2kg parcel from Nigeria can be shipped to the US or UK for less than $20 – this includes DHL pickup and global tracking

Facilitate and centralize payments (global and local) via a secure online wallet and receive payouts according to the merchant’s preference. A dedicated Afrikrea VISA card is also available.

Powered by Afrikrea, ANKA is the first of its kind global e-commerce aggregator of services for African micro retailers, and has been developed to reduce the friction of the global sales process for the 7,000+ sellers on the Afrikrea platform, as well as open new routes to market for sellers.

Speaking on the launch of ANKA, Moulaye Taboure Co-Founder and CEO of Afrikrea says. “We see Afrikrea as the bridge between Africa and the world, empowering thousands of micro retailers and their clients globally. Those entrepreneurs currently lose time and energy managing multiple channels of sales, and also lose money through the multiple intermediaries needed to ship their orders or get access to their funds.

ANKA enables them to sell anywhere as well as get paid – seamlessly, from one place.”

In a bid to power and support the entire sales life cycle, from point of sale to receipt of goods, Afrikrea partnered with leading global logistics partner, DHL in 2019 to ensure world-class delivery service for its vendors. Since then, ANKA has become the largest e-commerce exporter on the continent, with over 10 tons of cargo shipped every month out of Africa.

Using the ANKA service, vendors can search for competitive shipping rates; this is not limited to sales on the Afrikrea platform. Dropshippers looking to create jobs, produce goods and ship from the continent will also have the opportunity to manage their flow of business and get paid globally using the platform.

ANKA costs EUR10 [approximately $12] a month and the platform will also connect with MPesa, Orange and MTN, so customers looking to pay merchants can do so via mobile money, mobile banking, PayPal and a host of international payment cards.

Merchants will also be able to transfer the funds from their wallets in any method of their choice, including their dedicated physical VISA card. From there, they can instantly pay or withdraw funds at an ATM as and when they prefer.

The African technology platform is at the forefront of a shift in the commerce sector, using tech and scalable software to create localised customer experiences without the need for global storefronts. Euromonitor has estimated the African fashion and apparel market to be worth $31billion in recent years. Afrikrea estimates the yearly spend of its major markets to be worth $12.5 billion. The African diaspora in Europe ($1 billion), those in America and the Caribbean ($9 billion) and non-Africans with links to the continent ($2.5 billion).

By building the technical infrastructure for global African culture and allowing its merchants to reach the world using proprietary technology, Afrikrea expects to power and empower tens of thousands more independent businesses inspired by African fashion and artisan items.

Founded in 2016, Afrikrea as a marketplace for selling and buying African-inspired clothing, accessories, arts and crafts has increased its transactions to over $15 million in 170 countries worldwide, with sellers from 47 out of 54 African countries. The platform currently records over 500,000 visits a month with the majority of customers located in Europe and North America.

Taboure concludes, “In much the same way that international technology companies like Shopify and Alibaba have been central to inspiring and powering a new wave of global online retailers, and have created wealth for thousands of entrepreneurs via access to amazing e-commerce software, our plan is to achieve much the same, but for the growing and dynamic African market.

By handling a safe and seamless process for our vendors – sales, payments, shipping – we expect to grow with them and power commerce for thousands more online marketplaces and sellers who have a passion for Africa”.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Afrikrea Raises $1 million for Strategic Expansion

March 1, 2020

Afrikera’s co-founder and CEO, Moulaye Taboure

Afrikrea, one of Africa’s fastest growing eCommerce fashion outfit based in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire has raised the sum of $1 million towards its expansion plans in the near future. The startup wants to deploy the fund to grow its marketplace, hire more developers and export Africa’s culture. Afrikrea which prides itself as a marketplace for African-made fashion, art, and fabrics claims it has made over $5 million in sales across more than 6,000 shops in 101 countries. Armed with the mission to build the global infrastructure for African culture, Afrikrea achieved a first major step towards it by enabling sellers from any country to ship worldwide with DHL and to support that growth; the startup raised $1 million.

The round was led by the Africa-focused VC fund, Saviu.vc. Showroomprive and Id4 Ventures also participated and according to Crunchbase, this takes the total funding of the startup to $2.1 million. The funding will allow Afrikrea to not only grow its full-fledged and mobile-first marketplace with this integrated DHL shipping solutions but also expand the team across Africa.

Afrikrea.com not only offers free shops with advanced products and transactions management tools but provides the sellers with insights and support on how to grow their business worldwide. Speaking on the development Afrikera’s co-founder and CEO, Moulaye Taboure said that it is their intention to their infrastructure to all sellers aiming to export and build sustainable companies on Africa’s biggest assets — its people and culture. The marketplace also enables efficient exchanges with the visitors or buyers, before, during and after an order through its messaging system, which it says records over 30,000 messages every month. It also collects 10% or 15% commission on sales, plus services like promotion and visibility on the website or its social network community.

In November, it was among the ten startups that competed for the Africa Netpreneur Prize led by the Jack Ma Foundation and with a community of over 300,000 users, Taboure says Afrikrea’s aim is to roll out the best experience of Africa’s culture, designs and pieces to the world.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Ivory Coast e-Commerce Startup Afrikrea Secures $1m In New Funding Round

February 27, 2020

Joining the train of Africa’s latest startup funding this year is the Ivory Coast-based e-commerce platform Afrikrea which has secured a US$1 million funding round to grow its team and expand its online mobile marketplace. The startup has also sealed a strategic partnership deal with DHL for delivery of its goods.

“The more volume we have, the more interesting it is for investors,” says Mali-born founder of Afrikrea Moulaye Tabouré who had previously lived in France. ‘‘Today we are at 2,000, 3,000 shipments per month, but we aim much higher. This fund raising will also allow us to recruit. We have 20 employees, remote, everywhere: in France, in Brazil. We plan to hire in the tech and marketing industries.”

Here Is The Deal

This round of investment was led by existing Afrikrea investor Saviu, and also includes Id4 Ventures, an angel fund that invested in the likes of Showroomprive, France’s second-largest fashion and beauty e-commerce platform.
Afrikrea will use the funds to expand its mobile marketplace, further marketing efforts, and add experienced remote developers to its team.
The startup, which was one of the 10 from across the continent that competed in last year’s edition of Jack Ma’s Netpreneur Prize, also has a partnership with DHL that enables sellers from any African country to ship worldwide for lower prices, and is now planning further growth after banking US$1 million in funding.

Read also: Why Startup Ecosystem in Africa’s French-Speaking Countries Is The Least Funded In Africa

Why The Investors Invested

The lead investor Saviu Ventures is an Africa-focused VC. The VC has previously invested in the startup in 2018. The VC invests from pre-seed up to series A stage, focusing more on mobility, Fintech & E-commerce/New Retail sectors. The VC also targets both French & English-speaking Africa.

Qualities Saviu Ventures looks out for in an African startup

‘‘Do not confuse us with an investment fund: our approach is different. We invest early and stay close to our founders through the turbulent first years. Naturally, we do not want to be forced into selling our shares once things start getting better and want to keep an ability to adapt our exit strategies and timelines to the reality of our portfolio companies,’’ the VC notes.

A Look At What Afrikrea Does

Founded in 2016, Afrikrea is a marketplace for all things African-made, from fashion, art and handicraft to beauty and fabrics. Its community of over 5,000 designers have so far made US$5 million worth of sales across 101 countries.

The startup is also looking to reach the US market soon.

“Our turnover has increased threefold this year,” Moulaye Taboure added.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com