Business News
How Konga restores investor confidence in Nigeria’s e-commerce space in 2019
Nnamdi Ekeh said Konga took the forefront of driving the online marketplace growth that has led to restoring investors’ confidence.
Co-Chief Executive Officer of Konga, Nnamdi Ekeh, said despite investors’ lack of interest in the e-commerce business in 2019, Konga has taken the forefront of driving the online marketplace growth that has led to restoring investors’ confidence.
Since Konga was acquired by Zinox Group, the Nigerian e-commerce platform has been able to grow its revenue by eight times, while also reducing its costs by 65%. Ekeh attributed Konga’s growth to the company’s long-held tradition of ethical conduct and realistic business model.
He said this had kept Konga at the apex of the e-commerce industry in Nigeria. “Konga is undoubtedly one of the miracles of the Nigerian e-commerce sector. We have not only shown our qualities as a shining light in the industry; but our track record of ethical behaviour, landmark innovations and sound business practices were critical factors that restored investor and customer confidence in the Nigerian e-commerce market in 2019.
“We were not only able to grow revenue by eight times in 2019 but we have also been able to reduce our costs by 65%. That is a significant figure. Also, our flagship year-end promotion, Konga Yakata, lived up to its billing as the biggest sales event of the year, offering access to tons of genuine products delivered swiftly at the best prices for millions of Nigerians nationwide.’’
Problem with e-commerce: The e-commerce market had been affected by a report written by US research firm, Citroen. The firm wrote a report on Jumia’s IPO on Wall Street, which resulted in a lawsuit from investors. Ekeh said this affected the e-commerce business, as investors’ confidence dropped.
[READ MORE: Konga’s CEO discloses secrets of firm’s huge growth)
According to Ekeh, analysts believe the development may have hampered the efforts and chances of other prospective players on the African e-commerce scene in attracting critical investment and winning over a highly sceptical consumer base. He said Konga went a long way in restoring investor and customer confidence in the Nigerian e-commerce sector.
Konga Pay and Kxpress on the move: Ekeh stated that Konga’s mobile money platform, Konga Pay, which is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is experiencing increase in adoption. Also, he opined that Konga’s logistics platform has succeeded where other e-commerce’s platforms have struggled.
Meanwhile, Konga has been making an inroad into other markets such as travel which Jumia is also operating in. Konga Travel is a subsidiary of Konga, which Ekeh said had grown nearly 25% on a year-on-year basis, among other upcoming business units. Note that Konga has been rolling out stores in its bid to reach more of Nigeria’s under-served population.
“We have also invested significantly in state-of-the-art regional warehousing facilities which enables us retain inventory in diverse states and locations in Nigeria; which, aligned with our growing network of over 30 retail stores dotting Nigeria’s landscape, makes us closest to the people,” Ekeh said.
He added that, “It is no surprise that Konga has been listed as one of the top 20 brands to watch in 2020. This is proof of the significant achievements and strides we recorded in 2019. But we have not even unveiled a quarter of what we have in stock for the market. There are many more exciting things to come this year.”
Coronavirus
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
On the 5th of March 2021, 371 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria
The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increases as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 158,042 confirmed cases.
On the 5th of March 2021, 371 new confirmed cases and 3 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
To date, 158,042 cases have been confirmed, 137,025 cases have been discharged and 1,954 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
A total of 1.54 million tests have been carried out as of March 5th, 2021 compared to 1.49 million tests a day earlier.
COVID-19 Case Updates- 5th March 2021,
- Total Number of Cases – 158,042
- Total Number Discharged – 137,025
- Total Deaths – 1,954
- Total Tests Carried out – 1,544,008
According to the NCDC, the 371 new cases are reported from 20 states- Lagos (101), Rivers (54), Anambra (31), Ebonyi (23), Imo (23), Kwara (22), Kano (20), Taraba (17), Akwa Ibom (16), FCT (15), Abia (13), Kaduna (13), Osun (5), Edo (4), Oyo (4), Kebbi (3), Ogun (3), Ekiti (2), Nasarawa (1), and Zamfara (1).
Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 56,374, followed by Abuja (19,328), Plateau (8,939), Kaduna (8,623), Oyo (6,761), Rivers (6,651), Edo (4,645), Ogun (4,419), Kano (3,830), Ondo (3,066), Kwara (2,953), Delta (2,582), Osun (2,449), Nasarawa (2,248), Enugu (2,078), Katsina (2,060), Gombe (2,010), Ebonyi (1,951), Anambra (1,811), Akwa Ibom (1,588), and Abia (1,568).
Imo State has recorded 1,551 cases, Borno (1,297), Bauchi (1,232), Benue (1,188), Adamawa (942), Niger (917), Taraba (863), Ekiti (825), Bayelsa (779), Sokoto (769), Jigawa (496), Kebbi (401), Cross River (334), Yobe (288), Zamfara (221), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.
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Lock Down and Curfew
In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.
The movement restriction, which was extended by another two weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.
On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020. Also, on Monday 27th July 2020, the federal government extended the second phase of eased lockdown by an additional one week.
On Thursday, 6th August 2020 the federal government through the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 announced the extension of the second phase of eased lockdown by another four (4) weeks.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced the closed down of the Eti-Osa Isolation Centre, with effect from Friday, 31st July 2020. He also mentioned that the Agidingbi Isolation Centre would also be closed and the patients relocated to a large capacity centre.
Due to the increased number of covid-19 cases in Nigeria, the Nigerian government ordered the reopening of Isolation and treatment centres in the country on Thursday, 10th December 2020.
On 26th January 2021, the Federal Government announced the extension of the guidelines of phase 3 of the eased lockdown by one month following the rising cases of the coronavirus disease in the country and the expiration of phase 3 of the eased lockdown.
On 28th February 2021, the federal government confirmed that the first tranche of Covid-19 vaccines will arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021.
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Hospitality & Travel
MMA2 imports new x-ray machines from US
MMA2, Lagos took delivery of new x-ray machines ordered by Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL) to upgrade its facilities.
