Pierre Lionel Ebe is a graduate of Skema Business School and Burgundy School of Business in
France. He began his career with companies such as Airbus, Pro BTP, and Uber before joining Jumia in Cameroon as digital marketing director. In addition, since 2019, he has been teaching marketing and digital communication courses
at Pigier and
Digital College business schools. Since April 2022, he has been the CEO of Kuruba, which specializes in e-commerce.
What are your activities?
Our experience in e-commerce, particularly in the African market, gave
us an advantage over any other player when we
decided to embark on this venture. We had the experience, the background, and
above all, the figures at our disposal to avoid making mistakes not only in terms of
our target market but also our business model. We assessed the challenges by proposing a
project that has the merit of solving a glaring economic problem faced by
several African countries: the supply of small businesses. To give
you a glimpse of the consumer society in our country, it is
important to know that, despite all the difficulties
inherent in its operation and smooth functioning, the small retail market is worth more than $10
billion, which represents a significant share of the continent's GDP.
Unfortunately, to obtain supplies, these small retailers have to choose between
long waiting lists at wholesalers, which, in addition to being cumbersome to deal
with, offer prices that are unfavorable to sellers and even
more so to end consumers. Ultimately, it is the customer who pays the price for this
cumbersome and, above all, complex system, which benefits no one. Across
Cameroon, for example, there are currently several thousand supermarkets,
shops, and neighborhood stores that are sometimes forced to deal with wholesalers,
resellers, distributors, and producers to acquire merchandise. This is
where Kuruba.cm comes in.
We offer an online marketplace specializing in wholesale
dedicated to these operators who bring our daily lives to life. Unlike the most visible
offerings on the continent, we cater to the small establishments that
abound in our cities and towns, giving people access to
the most essential products. We want to reduce this time-
and money-consuming chain by enabling merchants to source
directly from producers or distributors. We have built our value proposition to help these players easily access millions of products at prices more advantageous than those currently offered by wholesalers. We connect independent retailers with a wide range of suppliers, giving them a way to more easily expand their product range.
You co-authored a book on e-commerce. What are the ambitions
behind such a book? What message do you want to convey?
I think our industry needed it, and several colleagues and
peers have been hammering this point home over the past few years. An analytical book on the subject was
absolutely necessary, given how important it has become over
the years. If you browse through African bookstores, you will see that
this is a subject that is sorely lacking. You may find practical guides
, but not a collection of ideas that help to understand the architecture of this
environment, which is still perceived as new by many of our fellow citizens. Through this
book, we first want to present the state of e-commerce around the
world, with a significant section devoted to its evolution on each continent.
This initiative is therefore not at all coincidental; on the contrary, it aims to provide
both clarification and answers to questions that some have not
even asked themselves yet. We decided to write a book at a time when the
debate on the future of e-commerce is becoming increasingly heated on our
continent, particularly among those who are not afraid to voice their anger; at a time when
investors and certain multinationals are packing their bags, leaving behind
young people without jobs and traders without a future; at a time when
the activity is more than ever in the hands of young people (of all categories)
who do not hesitate to make it a subject of resourcefulness and even begging. We
have decided to speak out in more ways than one, and we will insist on this:
first as spokespersons for the players in this sector, and second as
entrepreneurs who have been participating in the discussions for several years now.
The purpose of this statement is to present the origins and evolution of this
sector, which has experienced varying fortunes on our continent since
its arrival. It aims to send a strong and clear message to all those
who have been involved in the game from the beginning and to those who still lack courage
because the subject may seem too difficult. By speaking
out publicly, we first want to give our opinion and take stock
of the evolution of the activity so that the various players and
decision-makers can take the appropriate measures to put us back on the path we
deserve. We wanted to make our contribution to give ourselves a
chance to catch up in this new revolution, which has
long proven itself elsewhere and is still in its infancy here. We want to tell Africans that
e-commerce is an opportunity that we can still seize, provided we
are willing to question ourselves, because we have made certain mistakes that are now catching up with
us. Online commerce is an opportunity for
us as operators, for young people seeking a better future, for our
populations, for our financial system, for our businesses, but also for our economies. It is an opportunity for regional integration and the fight against
scourges such as hunger and unemployment.
What are the uses of e-commerce in Cameroon today?
With the exception of a few local marketplaces and financial services offered
by telecommunications companies, e-commerce is still in its infancy in Cameroon.
However, we are seeing many small businesses offering goods
and services on social media (mainly Facebook and Twitter) and on
the instant messaging app WhatsApp. But overall, although
everyone understands that the digital economy is no longer just the future but the present
, many companies remain very cautious. The suspension
of activities by African giant Jumia in the country has not helped. Furthermore, there is
no real political will to develop this sector.
While many countries around the world have a ministerial department
dedicated to e-commerce, in Cameroon we only have a sub-department within
the Ministry of Trade. With this book, we hope to
stir things up and get things moving at our humble level.
What are your predictions for the development of e-commerce in Cameroon and more broadly in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa?
If nothing is done in the coming years, e-commerce will simply
disappear, at least in the form we would like to see. No sector can
develop on its own, especially on a continent with enormous difficulties
such as Africa. We need to codify it in order to make it accessible to all, and
we need the support of all public
and private structures. Financial institutions can no longer
be mere observers waiting for things to happen before getting
involved; they must take measured risks to give it a boost.
The same goes for the media and all players who have a predefined role
in building a strong economy. The book we are bringing to market
is a good resource with fairly specific recommendations.
Should we continue to raise awareness about the opportunities offered by e-commerce?
We cannot and must not stop raising awareness about the opportunities offered by this
activity. Firstly, because it is still considered something new
—you only have to see how people talk about it to understand how
deep the problem runs—and secondly, because there are still difficulties inherent
in its deployment. In Cameroon, for example, internet
coverage is barely 30% of the territory, which means that the majority cannot access
the services offered by this digital machine. Awareness-raising must continue, but it must be accompanied by measures and actions to
move things forward.
Payment is often presented as the "first hurdle" for digital entrepreneurs
. What do you think?
All the figures show that we are
seriously lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of payment, but also in terms
of the challenges we face. The rate of access to banking services in sub-Saharan Africa has only recently exceeded
50%. It is therefore clear that digital players are not in
a position to offer online payments by credit card. Fortunately, there
are advances in the field of financial technology, with new offerings appearing
every day. Now, this is still something that needs to be
closely monitored with precise structuring. Governments must view digital
technology as a miracle that can bring dynamic elements
to our economies. Unfortunately, it remains a subject of entertainment in most
African countries.
However, this should not prevent players from working. Every day, we
must come up with solutions adapted to the local context. With Jumia in the past and
Kuruba now, we offer cash
on delivery as a payment method and are gradually trying to switch to a prepaid
method via the mobile money services of telcos such as Orange, MTN, Yoomee, etc.
As they say in Cameroon, "even with our hands," e-commerce will eventually
become widespread in Africa.