CartNG.com is Nigeria’s first online marketplace that enables merchants all over Nigeria to sell their goods or services online, regardless of their location within the country. This is in furtherance of its mission to use ecommerce as tool for the empowerment of the youth and the young at heart, and the development of the Nigerian economy.

As an early sign of its coming success, CartNG was invited to China by the world renowned [b]Alibaba Group [/b]to understudy its model, network with other stakeholders in the industry across Africa, brainstorm and refine strategies for growing the ecommerce ecosystem in Africa, etc.

Over the next two weeks, it will be my pleasure to take you along for the ride from two perspectives:

1. Business: Discuss themes and thoughts from the sessions in China from a business perspective. I guarantee you that this will be the most enlightening thread on Nairaland about the ecommerce system in Nigeria.

2. Travel: Take you on a visual trip with me to China, from the very beginning to experiences in the different cities in China from a travel perspective, from food to culture, transportation, accommodation, etc. Again, this will be the most enlightening and entertaining thread about China on Nairaland. You can follow that conversation through this link: https://www.nairaland.com/4169116/cartng-goes-china#62259335

So lets begin!!!

Nice One.

VERY GOOD IDEAL, I PRAY IT'S GOES WELL.

The bedrock of all commerce in China is the epayment system. The major payment platforms are Alipay by Alibaba and Wechat by Tencent. The volumes of transactions that happen with mobile payments is mindboggling. After an event last night, Alipay transactions peaked at well over 300k per second!

I have been carrying some cash around but every shop's preferred mode of payment is epayment and it is smooth and easy. Even the fruit seller on the street accepts one form of epayment or the other.

Epayment in China was born largely from ecommerce. Alipay was formed because of the need to bridge the trust issues in payment bebetween Alibaba sellers and buyers... same way we now have Jumia Pay and Konga Pay. And then the use of Alipay exploded to become what it is today.

We were at the ANT Financial Centre yesterday (owners of Alipay) and their setup is pretty amazing. They have already overtaken Visa card and are currently behind Mastercard in the global ranking of payment platforms

Let's talk about businesses for the new economy:

Bike Sharing
Bike Sharing in China is big business. Alibaba owns Ofo, while Tencent owns Mobike and there are a number of others. Bicycles fRom these providers litter the streets of Shanghai, such that the City Govt had to put a hold on accepting new market entrants.

How it works
Pick a bike, scan the QR Code with your payment platform, your bike unlocks and you ride away. When you are done, park it in any safe place and your account is automatically charged.

Umbrella Sharing
This is big at major hotels, malls and schools. Malls are everywhere in China!
Umbrella Sharing works in the same mode as bike sharing. Pick an umbrella, scan the QR Code and you are good to go. Drop it off in designated places when you are done and your account is charged.

Power Bank Sharing
You can actually rent a power bank and get charged by the hour!

Smartphones are a prerequisite for living in China. You will practically be at sea without one. But smartphones are notorious for battery drain. Power Bank Sharing comes to the rescue.

How it Works
Go to a power bank vending machine, scan the QR Code and a charged power bank is release to you. You use and return at your convenience and get charged by the hour.