Africa’s B2C E-Commerce Is Forecast to Surpass USD 1 Trillion by 2033 as Mobile Adoption Accelerates
Hamburg-based secondary market research firm yStats.com analyzes how Africa’s B2C E-Commerce market, evolving mobile payments landscape, and expanding instant payment infrastructure are forecast to reshape digital commerce across the continent in its latest publication, Africa B2C E-Commerce & Payments 2026: South Africa Deep Dive, providing in-depth coverage of digital infrastructure, market structure, transaction systems, consumer adoption, and liquidity and settlement dynamics across African markets.
As mobile-first connectivity scales, fintech platforms expand, and real-time payment systems mature, the convergence of these forces is structurally redefining how commerce, payments, and financial services are accessed, delivered, and integrated across Africa’s fragmented digital economy.
Key Forecast Highlights
• Africa’s E-Commerce market is forecast to grow from over USD 300 billion in 2024 to over USD 1 trillion by 2033, reflecting sustained structural momentum across consumer digital markets.
• Instant payment transaction volumes exceeded 64 billion by 2024, with total instant transaction values approaching USD 2 trillion, signaling accelerating adoption of real-time payment systems.
• Smartphone adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to rise from over 50% of total mobile connections in 2024 to more than 80% by 2030, significantly expanding the mobile-first digital addressable market.
“What we are observing across Africa is not a conventional digitalization process, but a structurally different pathway where mobile payments, instant systems, and platform-based commerce are becoming the primary foundations of economic activity. B2C E-Commerce in Africa is being built around payment infrastructure rather than traditional retail or banking models, creating a uniquely integrated transaction ecosystem.”
— Yücel Yelken, Founder & CEO, yStats.com
Africa’s B2C E-Commerce Is Forecast to Surpass USD 1 Trillion as Mobile Adoption Expands Digital Consumption
Africa’s E-Commerce market is entering a phase of scale-driven growth, with structural expansion increasingly supported by mobile connectivity, platform-led consumption, and rising transaction intensity rather than shopper adoption alone. B2C remains the dominant business model, driven by everyday retail and essential services, while market development remains uneven across countries due to infrastructure gaps, income disparities, and fragmented logistics systems. South Africa continues to function as the region’s most developed market, followed by Nigeria and Egypt.
Africa’s Payments Ecosystem Is Forecast to Consolidate Around Mobile and Instant Systems
Africa’s payments landscape has evolved through structural leapfrogging, with mobile and instant systems increasingly functioning as core transaction infrastructure. These systems now support E-Commerce, business, and government use cases, embedding financial services into everyday economic activity. Interoperability and cross-border execution remain structurally constrained, but domestic real-time payment rails are becoming central to transaction growth across most major markets.
Liquidity, Settlement, and Execution-Layer Risks Are Forecast to Shape Digital Payment Scalability
Africa’s ability to scale digital payments is increasingly determined by liquidity management, settlement speed, and execution-layer infrastructure rather than demand alone. Structural liquidity fragmentation across currencies continues to inflate working capital requirements and settlement risk, while real-time settlement mechanisms improve intraday liquidity utilization. Treasury centralization, cash visibility, and liquidity optimization are emerging as strategic priorities, with South Africa illustrating how partial resolution of these constraints enables structural scale.
Access the Full Report
For detailed insights into Africa’s B2C E-Commerce market, mobile payments landscape, instant payment infrastructure, and South Africa’s digital commerce maturity, access Africa B2C E-Commerce & Payments 2026: South Africa Deep Dive. Please contact press@ystats.com for more information.
