One of tech’s biggest titans, Jeff Bezos, the founder of e-commerce giant Amazon, has stepped down as CEO, ending a 26-year era.
While Amazon’s penetration in Africa has been much lower than in markets such as the US and Europe where Amazon Prime is a way of life, the company’s influence has been profound nonetheless. Nigeria’s e-commerce player, Jumia, the first African start-up to reach a $1bn (R14.97bn) valuation, is widely considered to be “Africa’s Amazon”.
On the local front, Naspers-owned Takealot is the king of online retail in SA, having built a logistics network that was even used to distribute personal protective equipment during the Covid-19 pandemic. That capability also extends to food delivery through its Mr D Food unit.
Its fulfilment, warehousing and online strategy has been modelled after Amazon, of course adding its own take for the local environment. Takealot has also championed retail festivities such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, both American concepts that have been helped over the years by the likes of Amazon.
Bezos, now the richest man in the world, will remain in the company as chair, relinquishing the daily duties of running a company valued at $1.69-trillion. A much celebrated business-person and technology pioneer, Bezos leaves at a time when his company is under increasing scrutiny from US authorities who are mulling ways to break up its dominance in e-commerce.
Nevertheless, the Silicon Valley legend still has other pursuits keeping him busy, such as his race to space against fellow billionaire Elon Musk and ownership of the prestigious The Wall Street Journal. Whatever he does, it’s likely that even in Africa we will continue to feel and see his influence in our way of life.
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