Tunde Kehinde, co-founder and managing director of Jumia Nigeria, has told HumanIPO any product could be sold online in Nigeria as long as the price and quality is right.
Kehinde said: “If it’s a good offer, people will buy at the right price and right quality, they will try it out.”
On the gap between site visitors and actual buyers, he said the company is recording growth.
“We don’t disclose numbers but I can tell you now we are seeing record numbers on our e-commerce platform. People are buying what we are selling,” he said.
He added that sales are being boosted by the company’s exclusive deals with product manufacturers.
“We have exclusive deals with Nokia, Samsung and Dell. These are helping us to push the volume of sales,” he told HumanIPO.
With the frequent emergence of new e-commerce platforms in Nigeria, he said the market is large enough for everyone as long as stakeholders can diversify into specific categories and work together to overcome the trust challenge.
Kehinde said: “The market is very big and I think there is still enough market for people to succeed. While many are coming up, I see they’ll begin to focus on specific categories – whether it’s clothing, books or phones. I see that happening soon.
“We have such a large share of the market yet many people are still afraid about shopping online. So I believe there is still enough market for everyone once we can overcome that trust barrier.”
As Jumia enters its second year of operations in Nigeria, he said the focus is to intensify efforts at improving customer experience.
“We want every single time you interact with us – whether you visit our site, see our price, or you talk to a Jumia rep, it’s an amazing experience. We will keep investing in that this year and for the next few years,” he told HumanIPO.
