Facebook has extended its marketplace initiatives to 37 countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa. Already available in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria, the new destinations are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Comoros, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Equatorial Guinea among others.
Marketplace is a convenient destination where people can discover, buy and sell items from others in their communities by tapping on the marketplace icon or visiting https://bit.ly/3Dn4Uz8 to browse and search for items.
Commenting on the launch, 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.”
The American company said discovering things on Facebook Marketplace is simple.
“To get there, people can look for the Marketplace icon in the Facebook app or visit https://bit.ly/3Dn4Uz8. 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,” the firm stated.
According to it, listing an item for sale is as easy as browsing for one on the Marketplace. It explained that 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.
It said 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 preferences.
Guardian