By Chinenye Anuforo,
Four bespoke solutions by Tradegrid, a business to business, B2B marketplace platform, have given the Small and Middle Enterprises, SMEs in Nigeria and Africa a relief from the cash crunch they appear to be experiencing in recent times.
The Tradegrid solutions come in four benefit packages that allow customers achieve:
Low-cost credit; a formalized and easily accessible credit option which will allow traders and operators purchase as much product as they need and pay back as they sell.
Increased margins: Traders need to increase the margins on their products by cutting out redundant processes and signing up to Boost it’s flagship Non-Fuel Revenue product.
Reduced order fulfillment time: This is greatly important considering that efficiency and value is lost in the current long waiting time it takes for traders and operators to join long queues at the depot for new products offtake. Reducing this time will optimize their operations and cashflow
Transition to a cleaner Energy mix: One of TradeGrid’s Boost product is transforming the forecourt experience from simple fueling stations to holistic multi-experience centers. Making it robust with alternative energy mixes like natural gas, EV charging etc., wholesome retailing like grocery marts, spare-parts e-stores etc., while also monetizing its high footfall traffic and other latent assets through LED advert boards.
Africa’s Large-Ticket Trade market is faced with a severe cash crunch. In sectors like Fuel forecourt, this has influenced results across three key areas; credit, utilization and ownership.
For Credit, given the severe cash crunch, most operators source products on credit through trust-based supplier relationships. Most of this credit remains informal.
On Utilization, Most trading outlets under-utilize their facilities due to difficulties in sourcing products and maximizing margins to cover working capital costs
Similarly, on ownership, most trading outlets are being operated on leases as operators embrace a more cash-flow friendly model over direct ownership
Meanwhile, Operators need access to swift product supply and formal credit systems that can be leveraged to meet their product demand while being environmentally responsible.
Tradegriid has grown to become the largest network of independent retail stations by solving intractable problems of small and medium Enterprises SMEs through a seamless application of their proprietary technology.
It launched just last year in Nigeria and expanded into East African markets like Kenya, later this year. It has rapidly become the largest network of forecourt retailers on the continent.
Tradegrid is backed by global investors including U.S based Fluna Capital, as well as numerous other investors from SoftBank, PwC and Harvard Business Review.
It is run by a team of professionals comprising trade and e-commerce veterans with strong operations experience from giants like Jumia.
Managing Director Tradegrid, Mr Paul Adeyoyin said Trading is the largest profession on the continent, and the company is geared to becoming the No.1 solutions partner to the continent’s exponentially growing trade SMBs, by providing modern business tools that help them thrive in today’s digital age.
Adeyoyin said: “We have bootstrapped operations since first transaction in January 2022. We are delivering strong growth at our core, while rapidly building defensible moats and enhancing our eco-system of offerings.