WhatsApp Business takes B2B networking in Africa to a new level
From 2016 onwards, WhatsApp has emerged as one of the fastest growing networking apps as well as a media platform in Africa. For most Africans, WhatsApp is their main social media platform, overtaking even Facebook. According to recent reports, more people in Africa use WhatsApp, not Facebook, to communicate with each other and share information.
People all around the world use WhatsApp to connect with small businesses they care about – from online clothing companies in India to auto parts stores in Brazil. But WhatsApp was built for people and we want to improve the business experience. For example, by making it easier for businesses to respond to customers, separating customer and personal messages, and creating an official presence.
Although WhatsApp has not released any official data about its market position in Africa but it seems to be eager to tap into the growing popularity of WhatsApp in Africa – evident from the recent launch of a dedicated standalone app called WhatsApp Business which targets small businesses. WhatsApp Business is currently just for Android users who dominate market share in emerging markets. It is estimated that 80% of small businesses in Brazil and India already use WhatsApp Messenger to reach their customers.
WhatsApp Business features include business profile, messaging tools such as quick replies, greeting messages and away messages, metrics and a verified business account listing. “Our new app will make it easier for companies to connect with customers, and more convenient for our 1.3 billion users to chat with businesses that matter to them,” WhatsApp says.
Customers won’t need to install new apps as messages sent from WhatsApp Business will be received on WhatsApp Messenger as usual. Already, over 500,000 users have installed the app within two weeks of being rolled out. A quick check showed the app which was rolled out initially in the UK and US on January 18, is now available in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
“It is a nice move that WhatsApp is going all-in for small businesses even though Africa’s big companies would also jump on the WhatsApp Business train as part of their digital business outreach,” said Chris Alagboso, an Owerri-based Nigerian media entrepreneur.
While several early users of the new app in Nigeria said they were impressed, they observed that several important features that small businesses need are still missing such as receiving payments and the possibility of finding potential customers with a service similar to Facebook’s Sponsored Posts.
WhatsApp rise has caused tensions with some of the mobile network operators as its success has eaten into the traditional voice and SMS revenue structure since the app enables users to make voice calls and text messaging for relatively low data costs.
But the upside of WhatsApp’s popularity is that it is likely partly responsible for the continued rise in internet use particularly with smartphone take-up. For example in Zimbabwe, one of the few countries to provide data, WhatsApp alone was responsible for nearly half of all internet traffic in the country in 2017.
In Nigeria, both e-commerce startups and traditional retailers in local markets have been experimenting with reaching their customers on WhatsApp, usually targeting popular WhatsApp groups or building broadcast lists.
Africa Business Pages has always been leading the brigade in terms of embracing new technology to reach new audiences in Africa and already has a dedicated WhatsApp Business Group that helps African entrepreneurs connect with businesses worldwide.
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