Growth of E-Commerce Industry Bolsters Middle East & Africa E-Invoicing Market
The increase in consumer disposable income and changes in their lifestyles and purchasing patterns are a few factors contributing to the increased purchasing of goods and products from online platforms. Consumers prefer to shop online as it offers a selection from a wide range of products and saves time and money compared to brick-and-mortar stores. In addition, the increasing penetration of the internet and smartphones is boosting customers' preference for online shopping, fueling the growth of the e-commerce industry. In addition, per the International Trade Administration (ITA), the global B2C e-commerce revenue is expected to grow to US$ 5.5 trillion by 2027 at a steady 14.4% compound annual growth rate between 2017 and 2027.With the growth of the e-commerce industry, the volume of transactions, e-commerce operators, and the introduction of new market players in the market is also growing, generating the demand for e-invoicing solutions for efficient and error-free operations across the supply chain. In addition, the government mandates over e-invoicing in the e-commerce industry play a significant role in the growth of the e-voicing market. For instance, if the annual turnover of the e-commerce organization is above US$ 1.22 million (INR 10 crores), then it is mandatory that the organization register the e-invoice under GST on the Invoice Registration Portal and generate an IRN. E-invoicing market players such as Basware and IRIS Business Services Ltd.
provide e-invoicing solutions for the e-commerce industry. E-invoice solutions provide faster and more efficient processing of input tax credits and faster online invoice issuance; they are less prone to errors than manual records; analytics and automated reports allow a bird's eye view of the invoices; and they save time using the streamlined billing method. All these benefits provided by e-invoice solutions for e-commerce platforms fuel the market growth in the e-commerce industry.
Middle East & Africa E-Invoicing Market Overview
The Middle East & Africa (MEA) market is segmented into South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Rest of MEA. Governments and tax authorities are encouraging organizations to adopt e-invoicing across the globe. Tax becomes an integral part of day-to-day finance and commercial operations, which is the key reason that more countries across the Middle East mandate e-invoicing. However, the majority of African countries are in the early phase of implementing e-invoicing. Urge to improve efficiency in large & gigantic companies the demand for e-invoicing is rising.South Africa has framed regulations for e-invoicing in their jurisdiction. However, in B2B transactions, e-invoicing is not mandatory in South Africa. In the Middle East, a few countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have taken steps to make electronic invoicing mandatory. The country has shown a high interest in executing Continuous Transaction Controls (CTC), which includes mandatory electronic invoicing.
The UAE is another country that is making use of e-invoicing in B2B transactions to make it more accurate and faster. In the UAE, the implementation of e-invoicing is governed by Federal Law No. (1) of 2006 On Electronic Commerce and Transactions. The UAE-based companies are looking forward to introducing e-invoicing through a network of supply chain partners to meet legal requirements levied by the UAE legislative bodies. Oman, Kuwait, and Libya are a few countries that have no regulations for e-invoicing in their jurisdiction. UAE has been taking several steps to promote the commercialization of electronic invoicing in the country.
The Commercial Bank of Dubai launched its distinct e-invoicing solution that enables straight-through processing of an invoice presentment and payment initiation by enabling billers to submit the invoice to payers via a single online channel. The Arab Gulf state of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Finance and Federal Tax Authority provided further details of its plans to mandate e-invoicing from July 2026. This stated instance will at first cover B2B and B2G transactions, with B2C to follow at a later date.
Middle East & Africa E-Invoicing Market Revenue and Forecast to 2031 (US$ Million)
Middle East & Africa E-Invoicing Market Segmentation
The Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is categorized into deployment, end user, application, type, and country.- Based on deployment, the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is bifurcated into on-premise and cloud-based. The cloud-based segment held a larger market share in 2023.
- In terms of end user, the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is categorized into retail and e-commerce, government, IT and Telecom, BFSI, and others. The government segment held the largest market share in 2023.
- In terms of application, the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is categorized into B2B, B2C, and B2G. The B2G segment held the largest market share in 2023.
- In terms of type, the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is bifurcated into non-PO invoices and Po invoices. The non-PO invoices segment held a larger market share in 2023.
- By country, the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market is segmented into the South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the Rest of Middle East & Africa. The Rest of Middle East & Africa dominated the Middle East & Africa e-invoicing market share in 2023.
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Companies Mentioned
- Cegedim SA
- Sage Group Plc
- Comarch SA
- Nipendo Ltd
- Coupa Software Inc
- International Business Machines Corp
- SAP SE