E-commerce a booming front in China-Africa cooperation

Online event

As a result of the deal, Rwandan coffee is available on Alibaba's platforms and coffee lovers in China can access the product through Tmall, a subsidiary online platform of Alibaba.

In May, more than 1.5 tons of roasted Rwandan coffee beans were sold within a minute during an online live streaming event aimed at promoting Rwandan coffee in China.

Evariste Mutibagirana, a coffee farmer who delivers his coffee to the Rwanda Trading Company which participated in the event, said the move was significant for coffee farmers. It removed middlemen between the Rwandan farmers and Chinese consumers, boosting the prices of the beans for the farmers.

"China is leading in terms of e-commerce throughout the world. The unit price of Rwandan coffee in China is 30-40 percent higher than that sold to the traditional American and European markets. So it is a more profitable market for Rwandan growers and merchants," Mutibagirana said.

In June, a promotional event for chili took place on the eWTP.

Since the event, Rwanda's chili products have been steadily gaining popularity on the Chinese market. According to Alibaba, more than 60 tons of the chili has been imported since the beginning of 2019.