TECH

Rwanda and Alibaba launch world's first trade platform in Africa

The Rwandan government and e-commerce group Alibaba have signed an agreement to develop the world's first e-commerce platform (eWTP) in Africa, the company said.The purpose of the agreements signed between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma is to promote the digital economy and tourism among consumers in Rwanda and China.Rwanda is thus the first country in Africa to set up a eWTP platform, a global public-private initiative to facilitate the sale of Rwanda Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) products to Chinese consumers, including coffee and handicrafts.With more than 500 million consumers, Alibaba is the largest online trading platform in the world.The travel services platform of the Chinese group Fliggy and the Rwanda Development Council will also promote Rwanda as a tourist destination through an online store to book flights, hotels and travel experiences.It is the second such platform to be launched outside of China, after Malaysia last year.


Lusa