E-commerce is one of the most promising areas for the development of world trade. Its development is especially relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic. Africa is also an active participant in the development of e-commerce. At the same time, the African region can be considered the most widespread phenomenon in terms of the prospects for the development of e-commerce, for which there are many reasons, the main of which is the large sales market covering more than 1.3 billion people. The barriers that hinder the development of e-commerce, in most cases, range from harmful ones, such as political instability and low purchasing power, to specific ones, such as lack of access to electricity and poor development of telecommunications security. However, Africa remains a region with untapped e-commerce potential. The gradual leveling of barriers to the development of e-commerce allows you to choose the solution to acute problems such as unemployment, low consumption of the population and insufficient level of economic development.