Greening eCommerce: A Project with GIZ Ghana and SnooCODE
Picture Accra on a Monday: motorbikes weaving through tight traffic, on their way to deliver parcels wrapped two times, maybe three, just in case.
Now hit rewind and swap the plastic bag-packaging for a reusable, security-sealed delivery bag and the petrol bike for an electric bike using SnooCODE’s Route Optimisation technology.
That basically sums up the project we ran with the German development cooperation, GIZ Ghana, a year ago and the numbers are eye-opening.
Why We Bothered in The First Place
Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) face significant challenges in participating in digital trade, particularly in terms of logistics and packaging. A major issue is the reliance on single-use packaging, which not only incurs high costs but also leads to environmental degradation.
Finding sustainable packaging options and the associated logistics infrastructure can hinder MSMEs from effectively competing in the digital marketplace. Additionally, security concerns and the need for reliable delivery verification are critical challenges that MSMEs must address to gain consumer trust.
Ghana’s e-commerce market crossed US $916 million in 2023, with retail delivery alone worth nearly US $100 million in 2024.
The implications of this are obvious: mounting packaging waste and increased carbon emissions from inefficient, delivery routes and multiple delivery vehicles.
So we designed a two-pronged fix:
Delivery bags that could be used over and over and over again. Sewn from recycled fabric pieces and off-cuts, each bag can be sealed with a one-time SnooCODE traceable tag—no need for extra boxes or tape.
Features of our reusable delivery bags:
Each bag is marked with a unique tag.
The bags come in different sizes and can be further resized with snap fasteners.
Using unique digital signatures from SnooCODE’s verification technology, each delivery bag is assigned and sealed with breakable security tags.
The bags replace the need for extra packaging.
During the pilot, delivery bags were reused an average of 20 times.
Ebikes and SnooCODE’s Route Optimisation System. With our delivery partners, all deliveries were made using ebikes, and together with our proprietary route optimization technology, couriers made deliveries using an optimal delivery-route that significantly cut down delivery distances, contributing to reduced carbon emissions.
Total carbon emissions saved from 1,500 deliveries was 1,144.37kg.
Key Results in Numbers
During the project, one delivery bag was used 156 times (removing 155 single-use packaging from the delivery process.
All deliveries were done using e-bikes, reducing carbon emissions by 58.82%.
Vendors on the project saw a 20% increase in online sales when they were able to provide deliveries to their customers.
Here’s What We Learned
Opportunity abounds.
However, awareness and education are needed. It is vital to conduct comprehensive outreach and education campaigns to raise awareness about the benefits of sustainable packaging. This includes policy alignment and support to accelerate the gains that can be made from more sustainable packaging practices and incremental behavioural change.
Trust is the Fourth Wheel.
Ecommerce thrives when there’s security and trust. Thanks to innovative and context-adaptive platforms like Mobile Money, we’ve largely solved the payment challenge. However, the last mile delivery gap is what remains. From when a customer sees an item, pays for it, and gets it delivered to them, ensuring the security of the package through technologies like our security seal is crucial to gaining consumer trust and ensuring accurate deliveries.
What’s Next?
The second phase is expected to commence soon with double the number of deliveries.
Want to learn more about our technology? Send us a message.