The African continent is high on the radar of big international tech companies, according to newly appointed Gumtree South Africa manager Johan Nel.
“They’re saying we need to be there, and we need to be there very fast if we’re not already there,” Nel told HumanIPO.
HumanIPO reported last month technology, media and telecommunications projects receive 20 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) on the continent as investors shift from extractive to consumer facing sectors.
Gumtree, which was founded in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2000, was bought by international e-commerce platform eBay in 2005 before expanding to South Africa in 2006.
However, there has been no local administrative presence in the country until the beginning of May.
“We do see a huge amount of focus and investment on this continent. It is typical again in a case like this where here I am employee number one for eBay in Africa,” Nel said.
He said company had plans for expansion, geographically and strategically.
“When I took this role, one of the things I asked was “how important is the whole of Africa in our strategy?” And it’s very important. My experience would also help with that. There are no immediate plans of it, but in my opinion there needs to be.”
He also said the company could possibly expand its current offering by including new products on its platform.
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