Ayo Alonge
Bothered by the spate of distrust in e-commerce transactions, an online store, Ojaayo, is set to revolutionalise the e-commerce business in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
Addressing journalists in Lagos recently, the Chief Executive Officer of the startup, Ikechukwu Madu, said before the company launched the platform in 2017, having studied the e-commerce industry in Nigeria, and came up with the best possible niche to overcome some of its difficulties.
“We wanted an e-commerce system that would be designed to solve the issues of trust between merchants and buyers. We wanted a platform where merchants can sell at very little cost to them and buyers can get affordable, durable goods. It’s that simple. That’s what we set out to achieve and I believe we are on track,” he said.
According to Madu, the platform has been made to work seamlessly for all users, as it has recorded huge success since its launch.
“To become a vendor, all you need to do is visit ojaayo.com, register and start uploading your products. Buyers visit the site and select the particular product or products and buy. It’s that easy. The products sold on ojaayo.com are generally affordable. Besides that, our vendors often offer discounts on their products, more often than you would get on other e-commerce platforms. We often notify our customers on new discounts and flash sales so they don’t miss any bargain opportunity.
“You can bargain in real time on any product. This is a first in the Nigerian e-commerce industry and, maybe, in the world. You see what you like, you click on it and you can bargain if the price is not suitable for you. The process is user-friendly and interactive so anyone can use it seamlessly. For individuals who wish to be vendors, registration is absolutely free and you have upload and sell and unlimited number of products. Yes, we do charge commissions on each sale but only when the vendor has sold so he or she has nothing to lose really.
“Anyone can be a vendor so long as you have products to sell. We have a Buy Now, Pay Later Service for customers. Yes, our shoppers can buy a product and pay for it later. We are the first e-commerce site to offer credit services to customers. We also have an option for installment payment, Buy Now and Pay Small Small. This is another first too. You see we are very different from other e-commerce stores. Very different. There are a lot of other unique features to such as our affiliate marketing programme where buyers can also earn money and our Escrow Protection has a seven-day return policy where buyers can return goods they are not satisfied with and get a full refund,” said Madu.