African businesses should embrace cross-border e-commerce, says DHL

Cross border e-commerce continues to provide significant growth opportunities for retailers and manufacturers with an international online product offering. According to a 2017 DHL report, cross-border retail volumes are predicted to increase at an annual average rate of 25 percent between 2015 and 2020; from USD 300 Billion to USD 900 Billion– twice the pace of domestic e-commerce growth.
Steve Burd, Vice President of Sales for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, says that this highlights a boundless opportunity for African businesses looking to take a piece of the cross border e-commerce pie.
Burd says that as the market leader in express logistics, DHL Express works with thousands of e-commerce customers around the world, with a lot of them at start-up phase. “We are therefore well aware of the perceived hurdles involved when considering to trade across borders.”
He points to five common areas which domestic e-commerce customers consider to be a challenge when deciding where to trade internationally. This includes, the cost of express shipping, return rates, basket values, the customer’s business is doing well locally and unfamiliarity with customs procedures and processes.