Alibaba’s Cainiao expands service in Africa as demand for Chinese goods surges

Alibaba Group Holding’s logistics arm, Cainiao, has expanded its parcel delivery service to eight African countries – including Morocco, Ghana and Nigeria – as it races to give Chinese e-commerce merchants a cheaper, more reliable way to reach the fast-growing continent.

The company planned to extend the service to South Africa and Egypt by the end of December, Cainiao said in a statement over the weekend. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Cainiao said underdeveloped logistics infrastructure remained a bottleneck for trade growth even as Africa’s demand for made-in-China goods surged.

The company said it planned to leverage its network and technology to ensure “certainty and reliability” in small-parcel delivery tailored to local conditions.

The expansion into Africa is part of China’s growing influence in the continent’s trade and economy. While Cainiao is part of Alibaba, it also provides services to third-party merchants. Shein and Temu, two Chinese shopping apps, have already launched services in selected African markets.

China’s total exports to Africa rose 26.1 per cent to US$180 billion in the first 10 months of this year, about half the value of its exports to the US over the same period, according to data from China’s customs administration.