The e-Commerce Association of Ghana is appealing to government to consider waiving some taxes for the e-commerce sector.

According to the General Secretary of the association, Anita Wiafe Asinor, the sector is an emerging one, hence the need for government's full support.

Speaking to Joy Business on the sidelines of a breakfast meeting organized by the Israeli Embassy on the topic, e-Commerce in Ghana: Adapting and Thriving, she said "until the coronavirus hit the nation and we had the lockdown and people had to find themselves ordering things from online, the conversation around e-commerce became more. So, it's probably created the impression that this space is making a lot of money, but it’s not. It is emerging rather”.

“However, in other countries, there are some form of tax systems in place to support the sector and I think our government can look at these modules and see those applicable to us,” she said.

Chief Commercial Officer of Jumia Ghana, Kolawole Osinowo, said trading across borders in Africa is one major challenge in the e-commerce industry.

However, he hopes the African Continental Free Trade Agreement will help address that.

“Outside of e-commerce, you would naturally have the challenge of payment and logistics across these different markets. I believe that once these challenges are solved; where we’re easily able to pay across all the African countries, where we’re able to easily move as people across these countries then it would facilitate commerce. I think when the AfCFTA takes root very well, I think it will be an important enabler to facilitate trade,” he stated.

Israeli Head of Trade and Economic Mission to Ghana, Ayelet Levin-Karp said the maiden edition of the breakfast meeting was to create a platform for partnerships between Ghanaian and Israeli companies.

“As a trade and economic mission, we also try to see where we can drive partnerships between Israeli markets and the ecosystem here. We found the e-commerce space in Ghana extremely interesting. Though it is in its initial stages, a lot is happening recently and Covid-19 is probably speeding it up. We are aware of this development and we see a lot of promise in the sector,” she said.