As an average busy worker,businessman/woman, friend, relative or perhaps a mobile digitite: can you imagine being without your phone for days on end? In our ever evolving digital world, we live and work in, mobile devices have become an indispensable part of our daily lives. Demand for mobile broadband connectivity, and increasingly affordable data plans, have ushered in new ways of doing business via mobile devices; also known as mobile commerce.

African consumers are ready to explore

Despite low spending power in many African countries, they endeavour to better their life condition by exploring for new possibilities. Keeping infrastructural and business practice differences in mind, current mobile commerce use in many African countries involves buying airtime, transferring airtime, paying utility bills, ringtones, news and information subscriptions. Even more, consumers are in need of trustworthy, effective and efficient infrastructure for mobile transactions which includes money transfers.

Benefits

M-Commerce solutions save consumers queing and sticking to service hours. Thereby, giving the time to do other things as well as the convenience of receiving goods at their door step. Driving factors for expansion of m-commerce is the speed and convenience. In addition to that, merchants should focus on given consumers the best prices and services.

Trust is crucial

Many consumers still unaware of the benefits offered by m-commerce, remain skeptical about aspects such as safety. The need for reliable and dependable service is to be expected. Building trust is fundamental in expanding m-commerce, and also by increasing customer awareness. For the most part, establishing trust and business relationship must largely happen in person, especially with those unfamiliar to such services. Face to face introductions to services are crucial. Trust in such services is likely to grow with time, if consistent.

Future prospect

From Lagos to Nairobi, m-commerce services like JUMIA and M-PESA, are leading and changing the way Africans do business. According to Ericsson Consumer Lab report, on m-commerce in Africa, it is projected that growth in this sector will continue to increase. One significant reason is reach. It’s growing, as the mobile web becomes an increasingly popular way for consumers to go online when they are away from their PC, or if they don’t own a PC.

http://www.heartlandmobiledigitite.com/2012/11/22/mobile-commerce-in-africa-is-it-changing-the-way-business-is-done-2/

M-Commerce provides the platform for moving businesses beyond selling. Following is a listicle about some organizations in Africa who are using mobile to facilitate commerce in unique and creative ways:-

1. WeFarm



We farm is a peer to peer knowledge sharing platform to help farmers find vital information related to agriculture. It operates by accepting queries from the farmers via SMS.

2. SnapScan



It is a mobile payment service in SA, which aspires to simplify payments through the use of smartphones.

3. DabaDoc



A medical appointment booking platform which is free for the consumers.

References:
http://www.zealousys.com/blog/m-commerce-africa-beyond-selling/