Facebook has announced the launch in Nigeria of a marketplace, a convenient destination where people can discover, buy and sell items from others in their local communities.
 
According to a statement obtained yesterday, available in South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya, Nigeria joins the growing list of countries where people can simply tap on the Marketplace icon or visit www.facebook.com/marketplace to browse and search for items, sort based on distance or category.
 
Commenting on the initiative, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, Adaora Ikenze said: “The launch of Marketplace in Nigeria further highlights our ongoing efforts in helping to boost buying and selling in Nigeria and connecting communities…
 
More details through:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/02/04/facebook-marketplace-unveiled-in-nigeria/

BrandCo Nigeria Limited, a fashion retailer that sells relevant high street brands to urban African customers through retail expression called bCODE, the company recently acquired and launched Adidas in Lagos and Abuja.
 
bCODE is a wellness fashion and lifestyle multi-brand retailer that sells apparels, accessories and footwear by Adidas, Skechers and Havaianas. The company’s CEO, Wonuola Okoye, revealed that the company would continue to go into franchise with other local and international brands within the athleisure genre over the next few months.
 
Speaking more on the franchise, she said the company had its “Original flagship brand, as Skechers, then Havaianas and now, we have just launched Adidas…
 
More details through:
https://www.sunnewsonline.com/brandco-launches-adidas-franchise-in-nigeria/

About 1.4 million Nigerian micro and small enterprises have moved their businesses online and accepted a range of digital payments from their customers, Mastercard has said. The company stated this in its Economics Institute’s global outlook report- Economy 2021- which provides detailed analysis of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including permanent changes in digital consumer spending habits, growth of online banking, fintech disruption and opportunities to boost financial inclusion.
 
According to the report, “as e-commerce rapidly becomes a way to pandemicproof a business, adoption by older generations and added convenience and lower costs for consumers will contribute to the continued growth of digital demand in 2021.
 
“In Nigeria, SME-in-a- Box, a new low-cost payments solution, enables small business owners to move their businesses online and accept a range of digital payments from their customers. Additionally, NetPlusDotCom and Innovectives have already onboarded 1.4 million Nigerian micro and small enterprises with digital payment tools such as Mastercard QR, USSD codes and contactless to advance their business…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/mastercard-1-4m-nigerian-small-enterprises-embrace-digital-payments/
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Smart addressing startup OkHi is partnering with Interswitch, one of Africa’s largest financial technology & digital commerce companies, to launch in Nigeria. Together, the businesses are aiming to solve a painful problem for millions of Nigerians – the lack of addressing systems.
 
OkHi founder Timbo Drayson says the lack of addressing infrastructure negatively affects the entire economy. “Accurate addresses are vital for delivery and financial services, and the problem costs Nigeria an estimated $2billion a year in inefficiency. Delivery businesses often get lost and call their customers on average over three times to find their door. At the same time, banks have to send an agent, in-person, to verify a prospective customer addresses – a slow and expensive process.”
 
OkHi’s solution is a smart address – a GPS pin linked to a person’s name and phone number. Their approach is to enable any business to collect an accurate address, deliver to it without getting lost and continuously verify it…
 
More details through:
https://thenationonlineng.net/okhi-partners-interswitch-launches-in-nigeria/
 

The e-commerce space in Nigeria is poised for more competition as two switching platforms in Nigeria, Interswitch and Unified Payment are in the process of completing the lauch of their online shops in a matter of months, BusinessDay can report. For Unified Payment, the e-commerce vertical is the next phase of its business expansion following…
 
More details through:
https://businessday.ng/technology/article/nigerias-e-commerce-space-booms-as-interswitch-unified-payment-prepare-to-launch/
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Nigeria is ahead of African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Senegal, Ghana and others in online orders for food and grocery, according to Jumia Food Index 2020 report released at the weekend.
 
The report stated that the value of food and grocery market in Nigeria increased over the years, and was predicted to hit $142 million by the end of 2020.
 
The report which was released during a webinar, attributed the growth of food and grocery to new generation of Nigerian middle-class consumers that are spending more money on food and grocery products during the COVID-19 pandemic…
 
More details through:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/12/07/online-food-market-projected-to-hit-142m-in-2020/

Choice International has unveiled plans to reach 300 brand shops across the country for the GREE & Lontor product through a retail franchise partnership with prospective investors. Gree& Lontor is the flagship electronics subsidiary of the Choice International Group.
 
Speaking at the launch of the franchise in Lagos, the Chairman CIG Motors, Chief Diana Chen, said that from inception in the year 2000, CIG Motors has actively explored the international market and has opened more than 20 brand shops in Nigeria in the last 18 months while adding that it is set to open additional 300 shops.
 
GREE is into residential and commercial air conditioners, while Lontor is among the top three brands in household electrical appliances around the world…
 
More details through:
https://www.sunnewsonline.com/300-gree-lontor-retail-franchise-brandshops-expected-in-nigeria-chen/

Despite the economic headwinds of the last 12 months, leading omnichannel retailer, FoodCo Nigeria Limited, has doubled its branch network in two years making it the fastest growing company in the category, The Nation has learnt. Making this disclosure recently was the Ade Sun-Basorun, the Managing Director, FoodCo Nigeria Limited.
 
He gave this insight during the unveiling of the company’s latest store in Ajah Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub. The new store is the 13th brand outlet in the south-western region where FoodCo currently operates…

More details through:
https://thenationonlineng.net/foodco-records-fast-paced-growth-in-two-years/

When the coronavirus outbreak forced shops to close in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos, kiosk store owner Funmilayo Akinola weighed up her safety against the need to make a living.
 
After deciding that she couldn’t afford to stop working, she faced the challenge of replenishing her stock as the pandemic has made it harder for informal traders to buy wholesale goods due to safety measures disrupting supply chains.
 
The answer lay in a logistics firm that provides an online marketplace where manufacturers and retailers connect…
 
More details through:
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN26T1AH
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Jennifer Obayuwana, executive director of Polo Luxury Group, official retail partners of Swarovski Nigeria, said Swarovski has experienced remarkable growth in its one year of establishment in Nigeria.
 
She said this in a statement to BusinessDay, which also reveals that the jewelry brand is celebrating its one-year anniversary since it began operations in Nigeria.
 
The world-renowned Austrian producer of precision-cut crystals, genuine gemstones, and created stones, is building a lasting legacy in Nigeria, having launched in September 2019, in the commercial hub of Ikeja with its first mono-brand store in Nigeria which embodies the brand’s commitment to artistry and innovation…
 
More details through:
https://businessday.ng/life-arts/article/swarovski-records-growth-as-it-marks-one-year-anniversary-in-nigeria/