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Tag: E-commerce

  • FG To Raise $75bn From E-Commerce By 2025 -Ministry

    FG To Raise $75bn From E-Commerce By 2025 -Ministry

    The Federal Government has said that it is targeting an increase in e-commerce trading, from the current market value of $13bn to about $75bn by 2025.

     

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Evelyn Ngige, who disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja at the second National E-commerce Roundtable organised by the ministry, noted that e-commerce had grown from 14 per cent in 2019 to 17 per cent in 2020.

     

    Ngige who was represented by the Director, Commodities and Export Department, Suleiman Audu, said the encouraging trend had attracted the entrance of payment service providers in the e-commerce market.

     

    She said, “Interestingly, e-commerce provides an alternative to sustain businesses and preserve millions of jobs in the face of COVID-19 challenge.

     

    “For instance, in China, e-commerce companies played a key role in the supply of food and other essential commodities to residents of Wuhan during the knockdown period in 2020.

     

    “In addition, Amazon, a U.S. based company, as a leading e-commerce company in the world expanded and employed additional 175,000 new workers during the period due to increasing online demands for goods and services.”

     

    According to her, the second edition of the e-commerce roundtable session will consolidate the achievements of the first session and align discussions to current realities especially in the impact of COVID -19.

     

    She said the advent of the pandemic had turned global attention to the importance of e-commerce in the conduct of businesses around the world.

     

    Ngige said the event was expected to highlight critical issues that required the attention of relevant stakeholders in order to develop a strategic framework that would improve the performance of the e-commerce sector in Nigeria.

     

    She said in view of the cross-cutting nature of e-commerce, the ministry was open to any form of collaboration that would support the development of the e-commerce ecosystem in Nigeria.

     

    Also, the Director, Commodities and Export Department, FMITI, Mr Suleiman Audu, who was represented by the Deputy Director of Commodities and Export Department of the Ministry, Mr Kaura Irimiya, said that one of the thriving and promising markets globally was the e-commerce market.

     

  • How E-commerce Promotes Local Restaurants, African Cuisines

    How E-commerce Promotes Local Restaurants, African Cuisines

     

    Since Covid-19 entered the global equation in the early part of 2020, business operations and other human activities have been reshaped to embrace digitalization.

     

    The online community has thus continued to expand, as the majority of businesses strive for an online presence and customer reach.

     

    Online food delivery market witnessed a boom in the heat of lockdown and social restrictions, a trend which appears to be gaining more traction by the day. 

     

    This growing popularity of fast food, coupled with the growing trend for convenience and value for money have opened up opportunities in the Nigeria food market.

     

    Local producers and restaurants have indeed embraced this evolution and reached new customers. Online food delivery players like Jumia have also played a key role in shaping the supply chain and opening up the market to new entrants.

     

    Country Manager, Jumia Services, Adetunji Lanase, explained that Jumia Food is reaching customers  across nine states of the federation.

     

    “We currently deliver meals across nine cities in Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ilorin as well as key cities in the North: Kano Kaduna, and Minna.

     

    “It is interesting to note that 95% of restaurants on Jumia Food are local brands. Nigerian meals and organic food are growing fast due to new demand for local and healthy food. But burger, pizza, chicken, African dishes and kebab are the most popular cuisines,” he said. 

     

    The most popular local food vendors on the Jumia Food platform in Nigeria are Chicken Republic, The Place, Sweet Sensation, Kilimanjaro and Drumstick. Also available on the Jumia platform is Sooya Bistro, owned by popular Nigerian pop singer, Bankole Wellington, better known as Banky W.

     

    Speaking on how e-commerce has been supportive for business growth and reach, Head of Marketing The Place Restaurant, Ufuoma Ogeleka said “Our partnership with Jumia has consistently provided us with an opportunity to expand our existing customer base, attend to the dining needs of our customers at their convenience and in an efficient manner and reward our customers for continually trusting us.”

     

    According to the year 2020 Jumia Food Index Report, customers order more from these platforms due  to their affordable meals.

     

    “Chicken Republic gives me an opportunity to use their Refuel Meal which is quite cheap when you look at the current market prices,” said Sunkanmi Emmanuel, a Software Engineer who shops for food on the Jumia platform.

     

    Online food delivery is fast becoming a lifestyle among the emerging middle class population, with many relying on having their hot meals and groceries delivered at their doorsteps, as against going out to offline retail stores to purchase.

     

    The online marketplace is no doubt an influencing factor, boosting local food sales for restaurants, as new generations of Nigerian middle-class consumers are spending more money on food and grocery products, thereby helping to fuel growth in the market.

  • Higher Number Of Package Delivery Shows Increase In E-commerce Adoption

    Higher Number Of Package Delivery Shows Increase In E-commerce Adoption

     

    When Africa’s e-commerce market leader, Jumia released its 2021 Q2 result, one of the interesting revelations was the upward trend of orders on the platform.

     

    The e-tailing platform said “Orders reached 7.6 million, up 13% year-over-year.” This, the report said, was the fastest volume growth of the past  five numbers of quarterly orders, up almost 60% year-over-year and accounting for 22% of total orders.

     

    As the orders increase, it rubs off on package delivery in the logistics arm of the sector. The latest report also showed a record 1.3 million packages delivered in the second quarter of 2021 compared to half a million packages in the full year 2020.

     

    The foregoing serve as pointers to the growing adoption of e-commerce on the African continent. Even the skeptics of the viability of e-commerce service in Nigeria must have at one time or the other benefited from the services in past years.

     

    Interestingly, one of such staunch doubters of online retail services in Nigeria currently owns a logistics hub that is thriving on the wings of its partnership with Jumia.

     

     He is not only smiling to the bank, his company is also creating employment opportunities.

     

    “I was one of those who initially felt that e-commerce can never thrive in Nigeria. But as of today, the numbers are showing that things are different,” said Segun Babs, Founder of Fairy Trips Limited.

     

    Babs said his personal business experience shows a growing e-commerce trend in the country.

     

    In July, Fairy Trips delivered 14,000 packages. This was coming from a period of 40 packages that went even down to 14 packages at the early stage of the business.

     

     According to him, e-commerce gained more traction during the Covid-19 lockdown periods of 2020 and the culture is still being sustained in the emerging post Covid-19 era. 

     

    “These numbers show the increasing rate of adoption of e-commerce space in Nigeria. I can’t really say because I don’t have the data, but I can say it’s either people are buying more or embracing the ecommerce space more.

     

    “Another thing to consider is that by the time Covid came last year, we had a lot of orders coming and they were everyday household items; groceries and others. The people who were isolated, we were giving them packages, sending them food and things to eat and other everyday items. It shows that there is a big adoption and it can only get better,” he said.

     

    The Fairy Trips boss is also looking forward to a business boom as the year runs out with festive sales activities.

     

     He said “If we had 14,000 packages for the month of July, I am waiting to see what we would do in November-December when there’s a tier one event coming up. All these things show that e-commerce is here to stay and Jumia is a preferred partner to go with.”

     

    For Babs, his investment in the business is yielding profits. E-commerce is gaining more ground on the continent, and he’s reaching out to friends and family to join the moving train, invest and make a decent living from the growing market.

     

     “Am I reaping the effort I have put into the company? Definitely yes. Now I have family members, friends employed in the business. People that came for help and I ask them to join the 3PL to do deliveries and make money for themselves. I have friends I told to come sign up, have a hub, become a partner and make a decent living  off the whole business. So for me, e-commerce is here to stay. Kudos to Jumia, they’ve done a really fantastic job.”

     

    The fact that e-commerce is becoming a part of daily life in Nigeria is becoming glaring to all. Even if you aren’t yet on the train, you can see and feel its movement around you. The growth is reflected in the numbers of activities, and more importantly in the first hand testimonials of customers and partners who benefit from the impact of the services.