Entrepreneurs in Côte d’Ivoire are circumventing high retail rents and government bureaucracy to start businesses online, resulting in a thriving informal digital economy.
From baby clothes to handmade jewelry, small business owners are finding that selling via the internet has become the viable option for those who cannot compete with big players in the country. That includes a community of Lebanese entrepreneurs who have escaped an economic crisis at home to build a sizable presence in the country’s physical retail sector.