Africa is discussing electronic commerce!

KinConsult believes the time for eCommerce in Africa has arrived. Find attached a very interesting article in the local dailies of Kenya where the Head of Delegation European Commission - Kenya is advising the tourism stake holders to embrace online strategies.

Kudos to those leading the discussions. However discussions are meaningless without execution. We at KinConsult believe we can provide practical solutions for eCommerce in Africa and setting up shop in Africa is an important strategic move for our organization. We are confident Africa is ready to embrace the online digital revolution. However there are practical questions as to whether the people in Africa have the infrastructure to support eCommerce. This may not be the case for now however investments should be made. It is time for organizations in Africa such as tourist board to take advantage of eCommerce and market their products and services to the West where the infrastructure is readily available. For example why invest millions of dollars in putting TV advertisements to lure tourists to Africa or spend millions of dollars inviting celebrities when you can simply invest in a simple online marketing strategy where you can get the most bang for your advertising dollars. This is an important message that we need to deliver to the stakeholders in Africa.

Please find below the link to the article given you can never tell how long the link will be available I have also pasted the full length of the article.

Link: http://www.eastandard.net/business/?id=1143987808&cid=14

ARTICLE:

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Adopt e-tourism, European Union tells players

Published on June 4, 2008, 12:00 am

By John Njiraini

Stakeholders have been urged to adopt e-tourism to market the country.

The Head of the European Union (EU) delegation, Mr Eric Van der Linden, said without the move to online marketing, tourism would be severely hampered.

"We must all take note of the new channels and opportunities to communicate our tourism products. If we lag behind in this area, other destinations will benefit at Kenya’s expense," he said.

Linden was speaking after opening a series of e-tourism workshops organised by the Tourism Trust Fund.

The four-day workshops are designed to aid the recovery of the sector that was most affected by effects of post-election violence.

Statistics indicate the sector lost a whooping Sh13 billion in the first quarter of the year, earning Sh8 billion, way below the anticipated Sh21 billion.

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