Agrowinge-commerceplatformischangingthewayChinaandAfricadotradeIhopethatourcross-bordere-commerceplatformcanbringmoreopportunitiesforChina-Africatrade,whileplayingabiggerroleinpromotingthetransformationandupgradingoftraditionaltrade.LiaoXuhui,CEOofAmanboBernardKilonzo,aKenyandealer,foundhimselfinabitofapicklelatelastyear:HeurgentlyneededtobuyaChina-madeaugerdrillingmachineatwholesaleprice.Fortunatelyforhim,hewasabletoquicklyfindaproductthatfittedhisneeds,andevengottoseeandtrythemachinebeforecommittingtobuyingit.Kilonzothenplacedanorderandcompletedpayment,allthisfromthecomfortofhisofficeinKenya.Kilonzodidinonlyafewdayswhatwouldhavetakenhimweeksifnotmonthsofresearchandnegotiationsonthegroundandrequiredextensiveinternationaltravelinginthepast.ThisfeatwasmadepossiblebyusingAmanbo,adedicatedcross-bordere-commerceplatform,oneofthemanye-commercecompaniesthataresteppingupeffortstotransformtheexistingtraditionalSino-Africanbusinessmodel.Riseofe-commerce鈥淚nthepast,buyersspentanaverageofatleasttwomonthsonofflinenegotiations,productsselection,andwaitingtoreceivefreesamplesbymail[tocompleteoneorder-processingcycle].Itwasanextremelytime-consumingprocess.TheAmanboe-commerceplatformcansignificantlyimproveinterpersonalbusinesstransactions,鈥滾iaoXuhui,CEOofAmanbo,toldChinAfrica,addingthathehopedAmanbocanbecomeacatalysttopushforwardSino-Africantrade.China鈥檚tradewithAfricahassoaredfrom$10billionin2000to$220billionin2014,anddroppedto$179billionin2015,Chinesecustomsdatashowed.In2015,Chinaexported$100billionworthofgoodstothecontinent,withconsumergoodsaccountingforabout18percentofthatamount.LiaofirstbecameinvolvedintradewithAfricancountriesin2000.Seeingtherapiddevelopmentofe-commerceinChina,hehadtheideaofdevelopinganonlineplatformspeciallydesignedforChinaAfricatrade.In2009,hefoundedShenzhenRightNetTechCo.Ltd.,andquicklylaunchedamarketresearchontheviabilityofacross-bordere-businessplatform.Throughextensiveinvestigationinmorethan30Africancountries,LiaocametotheconclusionthatChina鈥檚maturee-businessmodelcouldhardlybeimplementedinAfricancountriesduetodifferencesinnetworkinfrastructure,productdemand,andpricefluctuations.鈥淲eusedtosendfilestoourlocalmarketresearcherswithatransmissionrateofonly5kilobytespersecond,鈥漵aidLiao.鈥淪uchwasthenormalspeedofbroadbandInternetbacktheninmanyAfricancountries.鈥滾iaofelttherewasnoone-sizefits-allsolutiontothechallengeshewasfacing.Buthedidnotgiveup.Afteryearsofexploring,LiaoformallylaunchedAmanboinMay2015,whichhedescribesasaprofessionale-businessplatformspecializinginChinaAfricatrade.AsofNovember2016,Amanbohadmorethan80,000registeredusers,andthenumberkeepsrisingbyover200perday.InnovativeOSOmodelPartofAmanbo鈥檚successcanbeattributedtoitsuniqueandinnovativeOSO(Online+Social+Offline)businessmodel,thefirstofitskindinAfrica.TheonlinecompanyhasputmanyresourcesinbuildinganofflinepresenceinAfricancountries,establishingoperationcentersaswellasproductshowroomsinCameroon,Kenya,Egypt,Niger,Togo,SierraLeoneandCoted鈥橧voire.鈥淏ecauseoftheirdifferentspendinghabits,itishardforAfricanconsumerstobuygoodsthroughane-commerceplatformbeforeactuallyseeingtherealitems,鈥漞xplainedLiao.鈥淚nourdisplayhalls,wehaveplacedsamplesoftheproductsthatcanbefoundonline.Indoingso,weearnedthetrustofAfricancustomers,ascredibilitywasakeyissueintraditionalSino-Africantrade,鈥漢esaid.InthecitycenterofNairobi,Amanboestablishedanofflineshowroomcoveringanareaof500squaremeters.Amongthemorethan5,000kindsofChineseproductsexhibitedthere,thebest-sellingitemsaremetalparts,ceramictiles,andmobilephones.EachproducthasitsownQRcode.Whenscanned,thecodeopensthecorrespondingproductpageontheAmanboonlineplatform,wherecustomerscanaccesspriceandotherinformation.
COURTESYPHOTOSOutdooradvertisingforAmanboinCameroonAmanbo鈥檚offlineshowroominKenya
鈥淲hatweneedtodoisboostingnewconsumptionpatternsinAfrica,andchangingthetraditionalbusinesspractices,鈥漵aidFuRuiqiang,DirectorofOverseasDivisionwithAmanbo.Headdedthattheircross-bordere-commerceplatform,whichhasbeenrecognizedbythepublic,playsamajorroleinchangingtraditionalbuyer-sellerrelationshipsinAfrica.鈥淭hetradingplatformmakesiteasierforustobuyproductsatalowerprice,鈥漵aidAbdirahmanHussein,aloyalcustomerofAmanbofromKenya,whohasbeenpurchasingregulatorsandinvertersfromChinaandthensellingthemtoKenya.FocusedonqualityOnNovember24,2015,Amanbo,inpartnerwiththeKenyaNationalChamberofCommerceandIndustry(KNCCI),thecountry鈥檚largestbusinessorganization,launchedtheKenya-ChinaImportandExportE-commercePlatforminNairobi.AmanbosignedastrategiccooperationagreementwithKNCCI,whichisaimedatensuringstrictscrutinyofqualityofimportandexportproductsforbothsides.CameroonianKennasKiamba,afrequentuserofAmanbo,hasplacednumerousordersofwigsandclothesontheplatformovertheyearsforsalesacrossthecontinent.Hedoesnotworryatallaboutthequalityoftheproductshepurchases,mainlybecausehewasabletogethishandsonsamplesbeforehandattheexhibitionhall.Liaoemploysstrictqualitycontrolsthroughouthise-commerceplatformoperation.鈥淒on鈥檛producelow-qualityproducts,becauseitisaroadtonowhere,鈥漢esaid.鈥淎manboisane-commerceplatformprimarilydesignedforwholesalersinAfricanmarkets,becausemanyAfricancountriesstilllackanefficientlogisticssystem,anditisnowtoodifficulttofollowtheB2C(businesstoconsumer)businessmodel,鈥滳henFan,ManagerwithAmanbo鈥檚DepartmentofInvestment,toldChinAfrica.WiththedevelopmentoflogisticsandInternetinAfrica,AmanboisplanningtodevelopadedicatedB2CplatformincertainAfricancountriesinthenextfewyears,butonlyifconditionsareripe,saidChen.Inakeynotespeechatthe2014WorldEconomicForumonAfricainAbuja,Nigeria,ChinesePremierLiKeqiangsaidChinawillencourageChineseenterprisestoexplorenewopportunitiesfore-commercecooperationwithAfricainaccordancewithmarketprinciplessoastomakeiteasierforthecontinenttoenjoytheconvenienceofinformationsharingandbigdata,asdootherregionsaroundtheworld.Asthenumberofregisteredusersincreases,alongwiththerapidconstructionofoverseasoutletsandwarehouses,AmanboisgettingmoreandmoreChineseandAfricanmerchantstoenjoytheconvenienceofinternationale-commerce.鈥淚hopethatourcross-bordere-commerceplatformcanbringmoreopportunitiesforChina-Africatrade,whileplayingabiggerroleinpromotingthetransformationandupgradingoftraditionaltrade,鈥漵aidLiao.CACommentsto