Rwanda’s exportation through Alibaba platforms increased by 124% in 2019 according to information from Alibaba. The Chinese e-commerce giant opened its doors to Rwanda products in 2018 when the electronic world Trade platform (eWTP) deal was signed between the two parties. The eWTP aims at opening markets for small businesses in Africa to take part in cross-border electronic trade. Thanks to the deal, Alibaba has availed Rwandan products to Chinese consumers online, in addition to promoting the country’s tourism packages in the Asian nation. Coffee has arguably been the most outstanding products from Rwanda in China, though chili is also coming up in that line. There are several brands of Rwandan coffee available for sale on Alibaba’s Tmall Global platform. According to People’s Daily, a newspaper in China, since Rwanda joined the eWTP at the end of 2018, the importation from Rwanda (mainly coffee and chili) through Alibaba platforms increased by 124% in 2019; and the numbers of consumers purchasing Rwandan tourism products on Fliggy (Alibaba’s tourism site) has more than doubled. Since last year, Alibaba has been organising online events aimed at promoting Rwandan coffee to Chinese consumers. One of such events took place in May this year, and in it about 1.5 tonnes of roasted Rwandan coffee beans were sold within a minute. A promotional event for chili took place late last month. In the event, Rwanda’s ambassador to China James Kimonyo attended a livestream session promoting various products made from Rwandan chili sauce. Rebranded by Freshippo (Alibaba’s new retail grocery chain), Rwanda’s chili products have been steadily gaining popularity on the Chinese market since the beginning of the year, and according to information from Alibaba, more than 60 tons of the chili have been imported since the beginning of the 2019. With hundreds of millions of consumers, Alibaba is the world’s largest online commerce company and home to leading cross-border marketplaces where Chinese consumers look to find the highest quality products from around the world.
