“Everybody Has To Go”: Efritin.com Gives Up, Shuts Down Nigeria Office

Nairametrics| Nigerian based “e-classified advert payer”, Efritin (pronounced ‘Everything’) has shut down its operations in Nigeria blaming harsh economic conditions. According to an article in the Guardian, the company said the high cost of data and increasing operational cost means it no longer has the financial muscle to remain in Nigeria. The company launched just 16 months ago in Nigeria.

The company has also decided to layoff its employees and are already vacating the head office located in Ikeja while office properties are being auctioned. According to the report,  Nils Hammar, the chief executive officer, Saltside Technologies and owners of Efritin, confirmed the decision to close down its Nigerian office, blaming harsh economic conditions in the country as the primary factor. Here is Mr Hammar explaining why they shut down;

“We are reducing our investment in Nigeria. That effectively means we are reducing our staff; everybody has to go. But in terms of using the site, it will continue as before. By investment we mean the investment we made from the launch, it will be reduced,” Hammar said.

“Like I said earlier, data cost is too high and limits the growth potential of the market. if you look at the size of Nigeria and the online activities, there is a big discrepancies. Before e-commerce and classified ad sites will start recouping return in investments (RoI) there has to be drastic reduction in cost of data,”

Nigeria is neck-deep in a recession with consumer demand falling amidst job losses and weaker purchasing power. Most startups and small business face a rather uncertain 2017 and await the passage of the 2017 budget for a glimpse of what the economy holds for them during the year. The world bank on Wednesday projected that Nigeria may be out of recession by the end of the year if oil prices remain about $50 and Nigeria’s crude oil production output avoids militant activities.