By Peter.
frica’s retail sector—already a GDP juggernaut fueling 20–50% of national economies in many countries—must leap into the future with AI, data analytics, and digital platforms, top experts declared at the Africa Retail Congress 2025 in Lagos.
Under the banner “Transforming Retail with Emerging Technologies,” the high-profile gathering convened policymakers, fintech trailblazers, investors, and scholars to blueprint a tech-charged overhaul of the continent’s $1 trillion-plus informal and formal trade ecosystem.
Prof. Yinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School (LBS), fired the opening salvo:
“Technology isn’t just a tool—it’s the spark that reimagines value creation. From the trader in Onitsha ordering stock via WhatsApp to the Nairobi startup scaling on TikTok, transformation is already live.”
She spotlighted the Africa Retail Academy—launched in 2021 under LBS—to fuse street-level retail with cutting-edge research and training. Yet she warned:
“Fragmented supply chains, scarce capital, and sluggish digitization demand bold leadership. We can’t afford half-measures.”
Congress Chair Prof. Louis Nzegwu hailed homegrown disruptors like Wasoko and Alerzo, which empower corner-shop owners with instant restocking, micro-loans, and sales dashboards—all from a smartphone.
“These platforms are rewriting informal retail from the ground up,” he said.
Mrs. Juliet Anammah, Board Chair of Nigerian Breweries, issued a clarion call to rebrand retail as a standalone economic titan.
“Stop seeing retail as a delivery pipe. It’s an asset class. A single kiosk in Lagos or Accra can now scale continent-wide with the right tech stack.”
Rounding out the vision, Deepankar Rustagi, CEO of OmniRetail, asserted that Africa isn’t just adopting AI—it’s inventing it.
“We’re leapfrogging global giants with localized solutions that understand African wallets, weather, and Wi-Fi gaps.”
The congress closed with a unified push: integrate AI-driven inventory, blockchain-traced supply chains, and hyper-local e-commerce to unlock inclusive growth—from village dukas to urban malls.
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