Karen Nadasen, newly appointed chairperson of Ecommerce Forum South Africa (EFSA), aims to create more awareness and trust in the local e-commerce sector, as a fundamental component to creating a robust e-commerce ecosystem.
Nadasen has been described as one of SA’s most inspiring women in tech, having been nominated for IT Personality of the Year 2017 and listed among the 100 Most Influential Young South Africans 2017. In 2018, she was the Southern African Development Community’s Most Influential Women in Business and Government.
Currently country manager of payments company PayU, Nadasen has been appointed as EFSA’s chairperson during what is expected to be SA’s biggest year for e-commerce adoption.
Her experience in the technology sector, mostly abroad, ranges from playing instrumental roles in some of the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 companies and in large multi-nationals, having started out as a Java developer in a small development house in Cape Town.
The EFSA is the local chapter of the pan-African body, Ecommerce Forum Africa. Its mission is to increase awareness, confidence and capability of e-commerce and promote inclusivity in the sector.
In her new role, Nadasen says she seeks to help create e-commerce collaboration, empower women in the sector and build trust in the system.
“Elected to be the chair of the EFSA at such a critical time in SA and the global economy comes with great responsibility. To build trust in the system, we need collaboration and partnerships bringing together banks, the South African Reserve Bank, the payments associations and providers, and the educators and investors that will drive meaningful growth of e-commerce in SA.
“I am also very focused on fostering financial inclusivity and empowering women. There is no time like the present to invest in the growth of this sector in SA,” she notes.
As part of its mission to increase women representation in the e-commerce ecosystem, EFSA has set up a working group, led by its board member, Mpho Sekwele, to engage with government and international bodies to create opportunities for women in the sector, she adds.
”If we look at women with technology backgrounds and particularly software engineering in this country, men make up 82% of the workforce and women around 18%.
“Being largely unemployed, coupled with a ton of responsibility and having little to no understanding of technology really leaves the doors open for only a small number of women to succeed in this country,” comments Nadasen.
Steady e-commerce growth
At the end of last year, EFSA launched a Trustmark, Safe.Shop, to encourage greater consumer trust in e-commerce.
E-tailers are monitored to ensure they comply with the relevant South African laws, and can then carry the Trustmark icon. An alternative dispute resolution mechanism is built into the Trustmark to deal with customer complaints.
On 14 May, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition lifted the online shopping restrictions imposed during lockdown, with the rejuvenated activity expected to breathe life back into SA’s weakened economy.
ICT experts predict the COVID-19 pandemic could help propel SA’s e-commerce into the future, as more local consumers reportedly do more of their shopping online during the lockdown period.
This follows global growth patterns, with a report from ACI Worldwide showing global e-commerce sales in April experienced a 209% growth compared to the same period last year.
“We are delighted by government’s recent decision to allow online sales. The EFSA has been working with government since the start of lockdown to ensure this result, and we shall continue to do so to ensure any issues which arise are smoothly resolved,” Nadasen says.
However, she believes SA’s online shopping uptake remains significantly lower than that of global counterparts due to the barriers to Internet access and technology illiteracy.
“High data costs affect Internet access. In this day and age, there should not be a single person that does not have access to the Internet. We need to lobby government and telcos to reduce data costs and place greater awareness and engagement with EFSA’s Trustmark, on e-commerce education across the sector.
“Government also needs to be doing more to elevate the understanding of what digital technology can do from a school level,” she concludes.
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