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Wildberries & Russ, Russia’s version of Amazon, is preparing to enter Africa, according to CEO Robert Mirzoyan. He was speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and said, “For us, the main priorities now are to strengthen our positions in the countries where we already operate and to launch in the countries of the Global South. We are actively preparing for the company’s entry into the African continent.”
In June last year, Wildberries announced a merger with the outdoor advertising firm Russ Group to build a digital market and a payments platform, with the merger completed in October. The new group is known as RVB; however, the Wildberries brand remains the dominant face of the business.
RVB’s aim is to create a new digital trading platform and provide seamless tools for the development of small and medium businesses. The company operates in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as in China and the United Arab Emirates, where goods are imported from these countries.
During his speech at the forum, Mirzoyan reported that by the end of 2024, exports through the RVB amounted to more than ₽200 billion, with a forecast of ₽450 billion (US$5.74 billion) for the whole of 2025.
Russian exporters are targeting African consumers; however, the continent generally lacks sophisticated logistics and delivery networks. That can be expected to change as local African entrepreneurs start to develop infrastructure and allow for better services of the type RVB can assist with. Most of Africa is now also united under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which reduces trade barriers, simplifies customs procedures, and eliminates non-tariff barriers.
The African continent is hugely diverse but has a combined population of about 1.5 billion and an average GDP growth rate expected at 3.9% for 2025.
For our popular, complimentary guides detailing Russia’s trade and investment with Africa, please refer to our Russia’s Pivot to Asia 2025 Guides to North Africa, and East Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa.
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