A study on an e-business that started in the early stages of the internet

1. ESHOPAFRICA IN THE
CURRENT MARKET
How eShopAfrica as an E-Business is working in the current market
By: David Kweku Asare Robertson
MBA-IT 18-20 (SEM III)
PRN: 18030141079

2. INTRODUCTION
• eShopAfrica began as an idealistic company with the purpose of sharing original
African products with the world.
• Practically they are now a leading name on the eBusiness market in Africa when it
comes to buying authentic traditional African goods.

3. HISTORY
• eCommerce in Africa is picking up steam, eShopAfrica is a fair-trade eCommerce
website that sources arts and crafts direct from traditional African artisans, Technology
Empowerment Network (TEN).
• Based in Accra, Ghana, this was one of the first eCommerce sites base in Africa and
has been actively trading online since 2001.
• The company began as an exports only business from Ghana to its major partners in
West Africa and later grew to be a major player in the whole of Africa and furthermore
launched its presence on the internet through eCommerce.

4. HISTORY
• eShopAfrica was initially registered in Ghana as an export only company
promoting products from the non-traditional sector.
• eShopAfrica.com from 2004 to 2009 was a member of the
Fair Trade Federation and has been a member of the World Fair Trade
Organization since 2010.

5. VISION STATEMENT
eShopAfrica is a recognized as a foundation for creating
sustainable businesses for traditional African artisans.

6. MISSION STATEMENT
• To ensure a good connection with the African traditions.
• To raise more creative artisans.
• To promote authentic African products to the world.
• To ensure fair trade grounds between African countries.

7. FAIR TRADE CHARTER
• Fair Trade Charter under eShopAfrica is a means of ensuring justice, equity and
sustainable development are at the heart of its trade structures and activities.
• They are;
o Pay the fair market price for our products. We agree quality guidelines with our
suppliers who agree that the price we pay them is fair for the quality we require.
o The products supplied to us must meet the agreed quality guidelines.

8. FAIR TRADE CHARTER
o We pay our suppliers promptly.
o No forced labour - including organized child labour - is used in the production of any
of our products. However, we respect that in many African societies children are
expected to take part in the activities of the household. During this time invaluable
income-earning skills are passed on to the children.
o We do not disturb traditional supply and production lines. Many of our items are
hand made. We know the limits of our suppliers and do not push them beyond this
limit as to do so could jeopardize the quality. For this reason we may ask you to wait
for your order - please be patient and remember you are buying direct from
traditional craftspeople.

9. SWOT ANALYSIS
• SWOT Analysis is a technique used to determine the following
 STRENGHTH
 WEAKNESS
 OPPORTUNITY
 THREAT
• All these involving the organization

10. STRENGTH
• Global Market: The access to the global market over the years enables the
company to expand.
• Cost Effective: Works to supply orders within the time and effective price.
• Flexible Market: The ability of the business to procure a variety of product types.
• No time/place constraint: Able to place and receive orders from anywhere around
the world .

11. WEAKNESS
• Security: Due to the inability of the business to keep up with the times, security is
a major issue in their system.
• Customer satisfaction: There is no dependable method of determining customer’s
satisfaction.
• Limited advertising: The popularity of the e-business has gone down due to the
limited advertising.

12. OPPORTUNITY
• Increasing customer: Due to their fall in popularity over the years its possible to
gain newer customers.
• Re-Brand: The e-business has more experience in managing their e-commerce
website hence a good opportunity to rebrand and do things better.
• Regular growth: Due to the number of users on the internet, its more practical to
expand the catalog of the business.

13. THREAT
• Competitors: Both local and global competition still exists.
• Innovation: With regards to e-businesses its required to be more innovative than
the average competition to satisfy customers.
• Privacy issues: As the world is becoming a global village, information has now
become very accessible especially through hackers who may seek to misuse
gained information.

14. CHALLENGES
• The rapid changes occurring on the online marketing front.
• The current market being concentrated with multiple competition.
• Social interaction has not grown with the increase of various social media.
• Customer and Manufacturers loyalty have gone down over time.

15. SOLUTIONS
• eShopAfrica should employ more use of social media to engage customers.
• The E-Business should engage in commercial branding and marketing through
social media.
• More effort should be made to keep customers and manufacturers.
• More emphasis should be given to the uniqueness of the company.

16. CURRENT MARKET OBSERVATION
• The E-Business has lost its relationship and interactivity with the general one on
one customers but still maintains a good relationship with businesses around the
world and especially Africa.
• The E-Business has been slow to adopt and implement new business practices to
keep up with times.

17. CONCLUSION
• Though eShopAfrica initially and boldly took the risk in becoming one of the
leading eCommerce sites in the early years, the African eCommerce market has
grown to be more concentrated.
• With the fast paced advancement of other eCommerce sites, eShopAfrica though
still a major player in the import and export business especially B2B through their
site has been left behind in the B2C market.

18. THANK YOU