Online classifieds platform OLX is not yet ready to monetise in Nigeria, but is currently more focused on growing its user base, according to Nigeria country manager Lola Masha.
Masha told HumanIPO the company was working on making more people aware of OLX and getting them to make use of the platform.
“We are currently focused more on user acquisition right now; it’s an investment for us. We want to make sure we get the product perfectly right for Nigerian users. We want to make sure Nigerian users find OLX as a robust platform to engage daily. At a point when we feel we are ready for monetisation we will begin to do that,” Masha said.
She said most of the platform’s users in Nigeria are from Lagos, followed by Abuja and Rivers.
“We still have a lot of work to do to evangelise and disseminate the message and to raise the level of awareness with users outside Lagos,” she said.
Yesterday, the company launched two campaigns – OLX Makes Me Happy and OLX Connect Radio Show.
“With the OLX Makes Me Happy, we intend to showcase individual users being successful on the platform. There’s a perception that OLX is only for techies. We want to show that everyday average users can be just as successful on OLX. That’s the primary purpose of that campaign,” Masha said said.
She said the radio show is a channel through which the company can get feedbacks from users.
“If they want to complain they can complain, if they want to say a good thing, that’s fantastic as well. We really want to get a true pulse of what our users think of our platform. It’s not always easy to open up yourself because you might be embarrassed. But if it’s in the interest of ensuring our users have the best experience, we are willing to take that risk,” Masha said.
