Payment, logistics gaps threaten Africa’s digital commerce growth

Africa’s growing digital commerce sector faces major payment and logistics challenges that could slow online business expansion and limit cross-border trade.

Industry players attending the East Africa Digital Commerce Summit 2026 in Nairobi said high logistics costs, fragmented payment systems, uneven digital infrastructure and differing regulations remain key barriers to businesses seeking to serve customers across borders.

The three-day summit, organised by Vibrant Digital Africa, is being held under the theme “The Next Wave of Digital Commerce: Powering Growth, AI, Payments, Logistics & Cross-Border Trade.”

Vibrant Digital Africa CEO Gilbert Rono said Africa’s next phase of commercial growth would depend on businesses, financial institutions, technology providers and logistics operators working together to build efficient cross-border systems.

“Africa’s next phase of commercial growth will depend on how effectively businesses can connect consumers, payments, technology and logistics across borders,” Rono said.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, e-commerce platforms provide an opportunity to reach customers beyond traditional physical markets.

However, expensive delivery systems, limited payment interoperability and complex customs and regulatory requirements can increase the cost of serving regional markets.

Peter Mwangi, Kenya country manager for VALR, said emerging financial technologies could help ease some of the challenges affecting cross-border payments.

Mwangi said traditional cross-border payment systems can take several days to complete, while stablecoin transactions could potentially be processed within seconds.

Faster settlement, he said, could make it easier for businesses to transact across African markets and increase cross-border commerce.

However, Mwangi identified limited knowledge of virtual assets as a challenge to adoption, while regulation would be important in building confidence around emerging financial technologies.

The summit is also examining artificial intelligence in digital commerce, including its use in customer engagement, demand forecasting, business analytics and measuring digital advertising effectiveness.

The discussions come as Kenya’s e-commerce market continues to expand. Figures cited from ResearchAndMarkets and PayNXT360 indicate the market was valued at about $2.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $3.8 billion by 2028.

The number of e-commerce users is projected to reach 40 million by 2026, highlighting the growing size of the digital consumer market.

The summit coincides with the eighth Kenya E-Commerce Awards, which attracted more than 300 nominations across 49 categories.

Industry players said addressing payment, logistics, infrastructure and regulatory challenges will be critical for Africa to convert its expanding digital consumer base into stronger regional trade and business growth.