Facebook has announced the launch of Marketplace to 37 countries and territories in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Eswatini.
Others are Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara and Zimbabwe.
Marketplace, currently available in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria, is a convenient destination where people can discover, buy and sell items from others in their local communities, simply by tapping on the Marketplace icon to browse and search for items, or filter by distance or category.
Facebook Director of Public Policy Africa, Kojo Boakye said, “Increasing the availability of Marketplace to 37 more countries and territories in Sub-Saharan Africa reinforces our ongoing commitment to helping connect communities and support buying and selling through one simple online destination.
“As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to impact people and businesses, the expansion of Marketplace will provide more people with a convenient destination where they can discover new products, shop for things they want, or find buyers for the things they want to sell.”
Discovering things on Facebook Marketplace is simple. To get there, people can look for the Marketplace icon in the Facebook app. They will be able to browse listings that interest them and filter them by distance or category. They can also use the search box to find exactly what they are looking for.
Listing an item for sale is just as easy as browsing for one on Marketplace. Sellers can share a photo of an item, enter a product name, description and price, confirm their location and select a category. They can also choose to post their listings to Facebook Buy and Sell Groups.
Interested buyers will find the item they are looking for and message the sellers directly through Messenger. They can decide on the payment method depending on their own preferences.
Facebook advises all buyers and sellers to follow local guidelines to stay safe and help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
