…As Online shopping in Nigeria, others may hit $75b by 2025***

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority says not less than 400 travel agencies operating in the country are not registered by the regulatory agency and do not have the requisite local licences to operate.

The Director of Air Transport Regulation, NCAA, Group Capt. Edem Oyo-Ita (retd.), said on Thursday that there were only about 157 travel agencies in the regulator’s registry while over 600 were doing business in the country.

Oyo-Ita spoke at the Quarterly Business Breakfast Meeting organised by the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative in Lagos.

According to him, only about 200 out of the over 600 travel agencies doing business in the country are registered with the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, which is a requirement for accreditation by the NCAA.

He said intending travellers should stop patronising unregistered travel agencies.

He said, “We take the blame that we may be poor in our regulations in the downstream sector of aviation which has not been adequately taken care of in the past years but it is mandatory that all travel agencies must be registered with the NCAA and NANTA.

“The International Air Transport Association has about 600 travel agents; NANTA has 200 members while NCAA has only 157 registered members in our record. This gathering is a wakeup call for every travel agent operating in the industry to register with the NCAA and NANTA.”

According to him, the NCAA has directed that all duly registered travel agencies should begin to display their certificates of registration or licences in all their outlets to curtail the activities of quacks.

The President of NANTA, Mr Bernard Bankole, had earlier accused the regulator of not paying enough attention to the downstream sector of the industry.

He explained that there was an infiltration of unregistered travel agencies, which he said was adversely affecting businesses, some of which had been forced to close shop.

“The NCAA is paying so much attention to the airlines, believing that we are not much of a problem until they begin to notice fraudulent activities. This is a major problem that we must address,” he said.

He stated that travel business could be profitable if given the right attention, “but it hasn’t been due to inconsistency and poor regulatory system we have experienced in the past year.”

He said the lack of attention by the NCAA created a vacuum for the IATA to step in, accrediting and regulating the activities of Nigerian travel agencies from Geneva, Switzerland or Madrid, Spain.

“The solution is for us to have proper regulation in the industry through local rules so that foreigners will not come in and take our businesses because people are going out of jobs,” he said.

The Chairman of Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, urged the NCAA to closely monitor the operations of travel agencies in the industry.

He said apart from issuing licences to them, the regulatory agency should look into their operations.

The President, Aviation Roundtable Initiative, Mr Gbenga Olowo, said airlines, as the main partners to travel agencies, should also pay attention to the business and assist in determining rules to govern the sector.

In the meantime, online shopping in Nigeria and other African countries could account for up to $75 billion in retail sales by 2025, a report by the McKinsey Global Institute has projected.

The report, which was got by The Nation, said e-commerce and Financial Technology (FinTech) represent two of Africa’s biggest growth opportunities, with the growth of the mobile technology market driving the two sectors.

“More than half of urban African consumers already have Internet-capable devices and this number is increasing. Online shopping in Africa could account for up to $75 billion in retail sales by 2025,” the report said.

Encouraged by the continent’s e-commerce boom, multinational logistics company DHL Express said it has once again signed on as lead sponsor for the 2019 DHL e-Commerce Africa Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre fromMarch 19 to 20.

The e-Commerce Africa Conference and Exhibition, delivered by DHL, is hosted by South African conferencing company, Kinetic, and is one of Africa’s biggest opportunities to bring stakeholders in the e-commerce sector together.

Later in the year, Kinetic will also bring the conference to Kenya, with the e-Commerce East Africa edition, also delivered by DHL, set to take place in Nairobi from June 12- 13, 2019.

This year’s event offers participants an opportunity to learn from world-class thought leaders, both from Africa and the rest of the globe, on the innovative strategies that will unlock e-commerce opportunities over the years to come.

Delegates from some of the continent’s biggest tech, retail, banking and legal firms will be in attendance to share their experience and engage with attendees to exchange knowledge.

Vice President Sales for DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, Steve Burd, explained that the ongoing partnership between DHL and e-Commerce Africa was a good fit. “As the market leaders in express logistics in Africa, we have extensive first-hand experience of the positive impact that e-commerce has on the continent,” he said.

The massive growth in cross-border and international e-commerce in Africa, Burd said, has seen DHL working with more customers across the continent each year, helping them to expand their brand across borders.

He added that e-commerce development in Africa has continued to unlock major opportunities for growth. “E-commerce allows entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to connect with a large customer base and scale up rapidly,” he said.

Pointing out that this had accelerated the need for support services, Burd said e-commerce growth therefore, has a ripple-effect on many other industries on the continent, adding that “DHL’s partnership with e-Commerce Africa provides us with an additional platform to connect with organisations and help them to understand key logistics considerations.”

Kinetic Managing Director Terry Southam said the collection of thought leaders and the topics under discussion this year are aimed at creating an immediate impact for African e-commerce companies.

“From marketing to fulfilment, the world’s best will be on stage sharing best practice and innovative hacks to drive online growth.

“It is quite remarkable to have all of these industry leaders on the same stage–not only willing to share, but actively working to grow the industry and ensure African customers receive a world-class online shopping experience.”

Southam said this year’s conference theme is ‘Conquering scale’, adding that his company could not be happier to have a market leader like DHL on board to help deliver two key e-commerce events on the continent this year.

Punch with additional report from The Nation