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AMAZON IS EXPANDING SOON ... AND IT'S GOING TO AFFECT YOU!

Updated: Dec 10, 2022

Global e-commerce/tech company, Amazon, which already has an established presence in twenty countries at the time of publishing this piece, is set to expand into five different countries cutting across three continents between now and next year. The company will be exploiting the e-commerce fronts in the Belgium, Chile, Columbian, South African and Nigerian markets in no distant time. According to reports reaching us, leaked documents, which cannot be published on here right now for indemnity purposes, show that the first expansion initiative, slated to take place in September, 2022 will be undertaken in Belgium, Europe, and has been codenamed Project Red Devil. Two South American countries; Columbia and Chile, will be penetrated next, as the documents show, and both initiatives go by the same codename, Project Salsa. The Columbian setup is meant to take place in February, 2023, while the Chile setup is slated for April of the same year. South Africa’s Project Fela will be launched alongside Columbia’s project in February of 2023, while the Nigerian marketplace is projected to open alongside Chile’s in April, 2023.


Travelling down memory’s lane, several media outlets – noteworthy amongst which are Vox, The Verge and Times – publicly released information about Amazon’s revenue which grew exponentially during the period of what has come to be known as The Failed PLANdemic, which happened in the year 2020. The company racked in an estimated 75.5 billion US dollars in revenue ... in the first quarter of 2020 alone; a 26% increase from the preceding year, grossing a net profit of 2.5 billion US dollars. Now that’s huge. Only recently, however, the company claimed to have recorded a loss, which would be its first since 2015, and attributed this to be the result of having invested in electric vehicles, the increase in cost of goods and services, as well as slow sales which they claim is, “… a pandemic induced aftermath.

PS, the pandemic peaked well over two years ago!


TechEconomy reports that Amazon’s proposed expansion to new economic fronts “… aims to recover everything that was lost … while also allowing for further growth,” and that ahead of its planned expansion, Amazon has been reducing staffing, subleasing warehouse spaces and curtailing delivery network expansion, all of which happened this year.


So, as a citizen of a nation with a growing economy, popularly (and unfortunately, I might add) referred to as third world countries, like Nigeria for example, how does this planned expansion affect you?

Many are so focused on the handful of advantages that Amazon's proposed expansion into their countries will inevitably bring that they have completely neglected the all too glaring demerits. While, yes, jobs will be created, and the country as a whole would benefit through avenues like tax collection and so on, there are also other weighty matters worth considering as well, and listed below are but a few. In the points listed below, Nigeria is used as a case study.

  • Displacement of local businesses:

Many struggling local businesses will not be able to compete with one which has made a name for itself internationally, resulting in their displacement. In layman's terms, foreigners will penetrate your nation, shut down already existing businesses, set up their own and benefit from you while your citizens' businesses lose.

  • Profit repatriation:

As the financially literate know, circulating finances/investing within a nation boosts economic growth and stability, which is much needed in times like these where the value of the Naira has greatly depreciated on the global front. But, if monetary exchange that should have been circulated within the economy flows to the pockets of foreigners who will invest in their own economy, you stand at a loss. Simply put, at this very time we are in as a nation, Nigerians supporting foreign businesses - especially businesses already as big as Amazon - instead of local businesses, would be at the expense of Nigerians.

  • Wreckage of masked damages to currency value of host country:

Consumption of goods and services which are supplied by foreign e-commerce platforms will result in further devaluation of your own currency, especially if they are goods and services that are in high demand because they are needed for day to day survival. The reason is simple. Any profit gained via the foreign platform will doubtless be converted from the currency of the host country into the currency of the home country of the foreigners. They don't spend your currency for their day to day needs, afterall. And as we already know, the value of a currency is directly determined by, amongst other factors, its demand quotient. In other words, the more Amazon changes the Naira you spent on their platform into dollars, the more the value of the dollars will go up and the more the value of the Naira goes down. It's simple economics, really.

  • Increased level of dependence:

Beyond promoting a net outflow of foreign exchange with a negative effect on the BOP, supporting foreign businesses at the expense of local ones will result in even more dependence on external sources for goods and services which, as a matter of fact, can be and/or are being produced and distributed locally - an option which Nigerians really can't afford right now, for all too obvious reasons.

  • Modern day colonialism:

Experts in third world countries worry, as they rightly should, that in spite of the benefits they have to offer, foreign direct investment would result in some form of modern day economic colonialism, which will expose host countries to exploitation by foreign companies. If history is anything to go by, and it is, this has happened way too often in time past, and it is up to us to take measures to protect ourselves from future reoccurrences.


In curbing these excesses and the many more not listed on here, a worthy alternative will be patronizing local e-commerce brands, like Jumia and Konga for example, over foreign companies. This way, you directly contribute to the growth and development of your nation FIRST.


We already know the advantages, but can you think of any other disadvantages your nation might suffer should its citizens support more foreign businesses than they do local ones? Please let us know using the comment section below.

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