Klasha Business

    August 8, 2023

    Expand into the three biggest economies in Africa with Klasha

    With its vast economic potential and emerging markets, Africa presents exciting opportunities for businesses seeking expansion. The continent's three biggest economies, Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, hold significant promise for business growth.

    Africa's economies have been experiencing rapid growth and transformation in recent years, with several countries emerging as major players on the global stage. Project Syndicate reports that by 2050, consumer and business spending on the continent will soar to approximately $16.1 trillion. This impending boom presents vast opportunities for global businesses, particularly for US, UK, and Chinese companies seeking new markets to explore.

    This article will explore how businesses can successfully leverage Klasha, an innovative cross-border payment solution provider, to expand into these dynamic markets. Businesses can unlock the full potential of Africa's top economies by understanding the target markets, utilizing Klasha's payment solutions, adopting tailored marketing strategies, and much more.

    Overview of Africa’s biggest economies

    Africa is one of the rapidly expanding consumer markets globally. Household consumption has recently outpaced the growth of its gross domestic product (GDP), consistently surpassing the global average.

    The continent's emerging economies offer promising prospects for expansion, fueled by rising affluence, population growth, urbanization rates, and widespread access to the internet and mobile phones across the region. By 2030, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa are expected to emerge as some of the largest consumer markets globally. These factors make Africa an exciting frontier for businesses and investors seeking new opportunities. 

    Despite increasing competition, Africa's consumer market remains less saturated and developed than other developing regions, such as Asia and Latin America. As a result, the continent presents significant growth opportunities, and certain countries stand out with the potential for rapid and sustained expansion over the next decade.

    Nigeria: Empowering growth and trade

    As Africa's largest population, Nigeria boasts a substantial consumer market by volume, with approximately $380 billion in annual household consumption. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts Nigeria's GDP to reach $574 billion this year, indicating sustained economic growth. This positive outlook suggests tremendous market potential for Nigeria in the near future.

    Notably, Nigeria already hosts eight cities with populations exceeding 1 million people, and it has one of the highest urbanization rates on the continent. As a result, the country is poised to become home to Africa's largest urban mega-centers in the coming decades. 

    Recognizing this potential, major international retailers and businesses are rapidly expanding their operations in Nigeria, contributing to one of Africa's highest levels of market competition. These factors further underline Nigeria's significance as a key player in the continent's consumer market landscape.

    South Africa; Embracing global opportunities

    South Africa is one of the most developed and diversified economies on the African continent. It offers a compelling investment opportunity with a well-established infrastructure, a substantial consumer market, and a strategic location as a gateway to other African markets.

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts South Africa will remain the second-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, with a projected GDP of $422 billion this year. This impressive figure underscores the country's potential for sustained economic growth in the foreseeable future.

    South Africa is a logical choice for U.S. companies seeking entry into the Sub-Saharan African marketplace. Boasting a population of over 60 million and covering an area of 1.22 million square kilometers, it provides a sizable business market.

    Additionally, South Africa is the world's largest producer of platinum, vanadium, chromium, and manganese, enhancing its appeal as an attractive investment destination.

    Kenya

    Kenya has the largest volume of consumer spending in the East African region, and several trends indicate significant potential for continued growth. One crucial factor contributing to this growth is the impressive improvements in transit infrastructure across the East African region, with Kenya standing out.

    Middle-class households earning between $5,000 and $20,000 annually drive the majority (54%) of consumption growth in Kenya. With income levels and urbanization rates showing stable, positive growth, this population segment will likely continue expanding in the coming years.

    Kenya's consumer market holds considerable promise for a sustained and robust expansion.

    How to expand into the three biggest economies in Africa with Klasha’s payment solutions

    Founded in 2021 with a presence in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya, Klasha provides cross-border payment solutions for global and African businesses selling online to and from Africa. With Klasha, global businesses can accept payments from their African customers in local African currencies and money methods, send cross-border payments seamlessly online, and get payouts in hard currencies.

    Businesses can scale while providing African consumers access to global goods and services using their local currencies and money. Klasha provides local and international merchants a business account to facilitate their cross-border payment needs. Some features of the Klasha Business Account that helps merchants expand seamlessly into Africa include;

    Pay-ins (collections)

    Klasha Pay is a payment gateway that allows global merchants to accept instant online payments from Africa. With Klasha Pay, African customers can make payments in their local African currencies, while a merchant receives the equivalent payout in the hard currencies of their choice.

    Klasha Pay also offers versatile integration options that allow merchants to tailor it to their business needs. Whether you prefer integration on custom platforms, white-labeling, using it as infrastructure for Payment Service Providers (PSP), or integrating it with various e-commerce platforms like Magento and Open Source, we've got you covered.

    The payment gateway eradicates currency barriers and allows global merchants to tap into the growing African economies.

    Payout APIs

    Our APIs help merchants pay out customers and local merchants in Africa in local African currencies (LCY)—pre- or post-funded. With Klasha, you can instantly provide USD, GBP, and EUR while we payout your customers in currencies like NGN, KES, and UGX. 

    Klasha’s API  is tailor-made for International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) seeking to terminate payments in LCY, and it is also an ideal solution for platforms that need to payout suppliers, freelancers, or service providers, similar to renowned platforms like Airbnb, Fiverr, or Upwork. With our API, you revolutionize your payout process and unlock opportunities in the African markets.

    Klasha Wire

    Klasha Wire offers a seamless solution for B2B businesses in Africa to pay their suppliers and business partners overseas using local African currencies while receiving payouts in hard currencies in T+1-3 in over 120 countries.

    With Klasha Wire, businesses can effortlessly facilitate international transactions, simplify cross-border payments, and expand their global reach.

    Virtual multi-currency accounts

    The Klasha Business account has a multi-currency virtual account that allows merchants to digitally create a single NGN and USD bank account from one dashboard. Each account can transfer funds to different local and international accounts in different currencies. E.g., with a multi-currency account, you can make payments in USD, GBP, and EUR globally.

    Each account operates as a regular bank account with a unique bank account number. These accounts can be funded directly via direct deposits from local and international banks. 

    No matter the size of your business, you can use a multi-currency account to collect local and foreign payments and pay your international suppliers and partners.

    USD virtual cards

    The Klasha Business virtual dollar card, also known as the Black Card is a pre-funded Visa virtual dollar card; funded with naira. It allows African merchants to swap naira for dollars and pay for global services easily.

    The Black Card is accepted on any website that accepts Visa, Mastercard, or American Express, and it’s used for business subscriptions like AWS, Zoom, Drip, and many other services anywhere in the world.

    FX Liquidity 

    Klasha leverages its extensive network of liquidity providers to ensure a steady and robust supply of FX liquidity to African businesses. 

    This strategic approach enables businesses to respond swiftly and efficiently to the evolving demands of their customers, fostering seamless operations and growth in the dynamic African market.

    Klasha Payment Links

    With Klasha Payment Links, local and global merchants can accept payments from their customers in local African currencies without owing a website or e-commerce storefront.

    These links can be one-time or recurring and can be shared with customers via email, WeChat, WhatsApp, or Instagram for payments. Customers click the links and pay using payment options like bank transfer, debit cards, USSD, etc.

    How to optimize Klasha payment solutions for business expansion

    With a Klasha Business account, global businesses expanding to Africa can provide a seamless payment experience for their African customers. 

    To use Klasha cross-border payments solutions, a business must own a Klasha Business Account. One Klasha Business Account gives access to all of Klasha’s solutions. 

    To create a business account;

    • Visit dashboard.klasha.com

    • Sign up

    • Verify your account

    • And start transacting 

    It’s that easy.

    Create a Klasha Business Account to start managing payables and receivables in the three biggest economies in Africa, or speak to our sales team.