On day one of the eCommerce Africa Confex (17-18 February), Nicci Botha interviewed advisory panelist Emilian Popa on raising venture capital and securing investment in e-commerce. She also covered PayPal's Efi Dahan on a recent survey conducted by the company, which expects significant growth in the use of mobiles for e-commerce. "About 50% of South African online shoppers who own a smartphone have used it to shop online, while another 21% say they will in the future," reported Botha. On day two, Mel Gischen of PayU explained how consumer behaviour is already playing a role in driving innovation in the mobile payment arena. Hence the changing face of financial services... Botha summarises the panel discussion on Agile Payments: Overcoming the challenges and creating an effective payment system. In his article on The weight of the no wait debate, Seth Whitehead wonders whether online shopping will ever replace the traditional brick and mortar store. On the other hand, Mthokozisi Ndlovu asks: Is Africa ready for increased online shopping? While Africa's internet and ICT infrastructure still has a long way to go, online shopping via smartphones is seeing increased growth in under-developed countries where mobile is the predominant means to access the internet. This week #DesignMonth features design:retail's Alison Embrey Medina on artificial intelligence in the retail technology space. She joins the conversation of whether technology will eventually evolve beyond humanity's ability to control it. And Cari van Wyk interviews Lynsay Sampson of Fairtrade Label South Africa.
Jessica Taylor, Retail Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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