E-commerce is growing rapidly in many parts of Africa. In Nigeria, for example, Jumia is vying to be Africa’s Amazon, selling everything from generators to perfume to cornflakes. Delivery start-ups compete to send drivers on motorcycles to deliver packages all over Lagos. Because addresses are hard to find, deliverymen often need to call clients for further directions. But as Kent adds, phone calls are expensive: a single call might cost 40 cents, a pretty deep cut, he points out, into a pizzeria’s profit on a $7 order.
