Konga in landmark merger with Yudala

PANORAMA 2

IN a landmark industry achievement, Konga, Nigeria's online mall and Yudala, Africa's pioneer composite e-commerce companies have officially merged their operations. This will see them effectively become the biggest retail and e-commerce outfit on the African continent. The business merger, which takes effect from May 1, will see both companies operate under the Konga brand name, and market watchers have posited that the merger is positioned to further strengthen Nigeria’s ecommerce sector, estimated to worth $13 billion currently, with over 400,000 orders daily.

The strategic decision, which was inked yesterday, in Lagos, will see both companies leverage the combined strengths of both platforms and is expected to further broaden the scope of organized retail and e-commerce in Nigeria. Zinox Group, which owns Yudala, had on February 3, acquired 100 per cent stake in Konga and now brought both ecommerce players together.

Konga Chairman, Olusiji Ijogun, said the combining forces to power the new Konga will enable them effectively achieve their goals of platform expansion and accelerated growth. "Effective from May 1, Yudala will now operate under the name KONGA, with dual CEOS in the persons of Nick Imudia who will be in charge of online among others and Prince Nnamdi Ekeh who will be responsible for offline. This merger will further strengthen our position in the Nigerian retail market as we creatively position Konga as the first profitable e-commerce company in Africa.

“The efficiency of Konga’s cutting-edge online platform, access to thousands of merchants and Yudala’s expansive network of fully stocked offline stores is poised to give our customers the best shopping experience imaginable. We will be working closely with all our combined clients, customers, merchants and employees to make the integration process as seamless as possible and thereafter make public our road map to sustain our leadership on the continent," Ijogun said.

According to Zinox Group, one of the exciting benefits of this merger is the possibility it offers prospective shoppers to order online, pay and pick-up the product(s) at the nearest Konga offline store. There are also increasing business opportunities for merchants nationwide. “We are very excited about the operational merger between Yudala and Konga into the new Konga,” noted Prince Ekeh, adding: “A merger of this magnitude has never been experienced in Africa.”