How e work

How listing your business actually works.

Here's exactly what happens when you list your business in the Directory, no vague promises.

The Business Directory

Here's exactly how the Directory works, step by step.

📝

Step 01

You list your business

Takes about 5 minutes. No account, no card, stays free forever.

✓Business name, category, and a short description of what you do
✓Where you're based, country and city
✓Phone number and email so customers and our team can reach you
✓A website, if you have one, though it's not required
✓One photo to start, more become available on paid plans

That's it. No registration documents to upload at this stage, no waiting for an account to be approved before you can even start.

✅

Step 02

We verify you're real

Two layers of checking before anything goes live, this is what makes the directory worth trusting.

✓An AI check searches for your business's actual registration record, Companies House in the UK, CAC in Nigeria, Registrar General in Ghana, or the equivalent for your country
✓It also checks that your website and email are real and reachable, if you provided one
✓A real person on our team then reviews the listing by hand before it goes live
✓Most listings are approved within 24 hours

If something can't be verified, we flag it for manual review rather than silently rejecting you, a real person always makes the final call.

🔍

Step 03

Customers actually find you

Not just one directory listing, several real ways to be discovered.

✓Keyword search on the directory, matching your name, category, and description
✓AI-powered search in plain English, someone typing "Nigerian caterer in Birmingham" gets matched to you directly
✓The live map, a visual pin at your actual location, not just a line in a list
✓Category and niche pages, like "African Restaurants" or "Immigration Lawyers", built specifically to rank in Google for those searches
✓A random weekly draw for Business of the Week, extra visibility, free, no favourites

These aren't separate products, they all pull from the same listing you create once.

💬

Step 04

They contact you directly

No middleman, no commission, ever.

✓A WhatsApp button on your profile, one tap and they're messaging you directly
✓Your phone number and email are visible too, not hidden behind a contact form
✓We never take a cut of anything, no commission, no referral fee, ever

The way people already do business across Africa and the diaspora, we just make sure they can find you first.

📈

Step 05

You grow from there

What happens after that first customer.

✓Reviews build up on your profile as real customers leave them
✓Your Profile Strength Score shows you exactly what to improve
✓You could get picked for Business of the Week at random, any time
✓If you want more, extra photos, priority placement, AI tools, you can upgrade, but nothing is ever removed or paywalled from your free listing

Most businesses never need to pay anything. The free plan is a complete, real listing, not a limited trial of something else.

🌍

Step 06

You get more than a listing

AfricaShowAm isn't just a directory, it's a growing set of tools to help you actually trade, all built into the same account.

✓Escrow: paying a new supplier for the first time? We point you to Escrow.com, a licensed provider, so your money is protected until you get what you paid for
✓Financing: need capital to grow? We connect you to real, licensed lenders in your country
✓Logistics: shipping an order? Trusted couriers by country, from DHL to local specialists like GIG Logistics in Nigeria
✓China Sourcing: importing stock? Real supplier marketplaces and freight forwarders who ship China to Africa
✓Sell Internationally: ready to reach buyers in Europe, the USA and beyond? Real export marketplaces built for African sellers, like ANKA and Plendify
✓Insights: a free live snapshot of where African SMEs are growing, plus paid reports for investors and researchers who want deeper data

These are all real, independent companies we point you to, not something AfricaShowAm runs itself. We're not the lender, the escrow holder, or the courier, we just make sure you know where to go.

Common questions

Do I need a registered business to list?

It helps, since our verification checks registration records where possible, but we understand not every business is formally registered yet. If we can't verify registration, a real person on our team reviews your listing manually instead of an automatic rejection.

What if I don't have a website?

That's fine, a website isn't required to list. If you'd like one built, we have an affordable website service you can enquire about separately.

Is the free listing actually free, no catch?

Yes. Not a trial, not a countdown to a paywall. Your basic listing, verification, WhatsApp button, search visibility, map pin, and reviews, stays free forever.

Can I edit my listing after it's approved?

Yes, any time, from your dashboard. Add photos, update your description, change your contact details, whatever you need.

What happens if my listing gets rejected?

We'll tell you why. Most rejections come down to something we couldn't verify, you can fix it and resubmit.

How is this different from just being on Google?

Verification. Anyone can put up a Google Business listing with no checks at all. Every business here has actually been checked against real registration records and reviewed by a person before it goes live.

What are Escrow, Financing, Logistics, China Sourcing and Sell Internationally?

Real tools built into every account, not separate products you have to sign up for. We point you to Escrow.com for safe payments, real licensed lenders for financing, trusted couriers for shipping, real supplier marketplaces for sourcing from China, and real export marketplaces for selling internationally. AfricaShowAm doesn't run any of these ourselves, we're not the lender, the escrow holder, or the courier, we just make sure you know where to go.

List your business free