Where the notion of supplier networks is concerned, electronic marketplaces are providing companies, which are highly active across the African continent, with the ability to consolidate and standardise procurement, introduce transparency and improved corporate governance, and increase the efficiency with which essential materials and services are purchased and delivered.

Driven by the growth in the availability and improvements in the quality of the Internet in Africa, the concept of e-marketplaces to consolidate and expedite procurement is being popularised among companies with distributed operations.