E-commerce platform Afrikrea, which specialises in “all things made of Africa”, has announced the launch of Anka, an on-demand software solution that will provide e-commerce, payments and global shipping services for thousands of micro-retailers.

The launch of Anka (which means “ours” in Bambara and Djoula) coincides with the fifth anniversary of Côte D’Ivoire-based Afrikrea. The platform, a marketplace with more than 7,000 vendors selling African-inspired fashion, accessories, arts and crafts, facilitates $15 million in annual transactions to 170 countries worldwide, with sellers from 47 out of 54 African countries.

According to Afrikrea, Anka is the first e-commerce aggregator of services for African micro-retailers, and has been developed to reduce the difficulties they face in reaching a global audience by allowing vendors to sell via customised online storefronts, social media platforms or Afrikrea’s marketplace, as well as providing competitive international shipping rates and facilitating payments via a secure online wallet.

“Entrepreneurs currently lose time and energy managing multiple channels of sales, and also lose money through the multiple intermediaries needed to ship their orders or get access to their funds. Anka enables them to sell anywhere as well as get paid — seamlessly, from one place,” Moulaye Taboure, co-founder and chief executive of Afrikrea, explained.