Konga, Nigeria’s largest online mall, and Yudala, Africa’s pioneer composite e-commerce company, have officially announced a merger of their operations which will see them effectively become the biggest organised retail and e-commerce/marketplace outfit on the African continent.
The business merger, which will take effect from May 1, 2018, will see both companies operate under the KONGA brand name.
The strategic decision will see both companies leverage on the combined strengths of both platforms, and is expected to further broaden the scope of organised retail and e-commerce in Nigeria and deliver more value to customers and merchants.
“Combining forces to power the new Konga will enable us effectively achieve our goals of platform expansion and accelerated growth, as we embark on an ambitious journey to redefine the retail ecosystem with the industry’s most advanced technology,” disclosed Konga Chairman, Olusiji Ijogun.
He said: “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 while Prince Nnamdi Ekeh 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.
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.” “A merger of this magnitude has never been experienced in Africa. We will be leveraging on Konga’s strong technology backbone and online experience as well as Yudala’s offline experience, network of retail stores and operational efficiency. In the near future, we plan to have a Konga store in every local government area in Nigeria. While this is ambitious, we believe that every Nigerian deserves the right to have access to the full range of genuine products offered by Konga,” Prince Ekeh declared.
Plans are also underway to showcase the full power of the merger with expanded access to thousands of products in Konga online and offline stores for all categories of shoppers.
According to Imudia, “We believe this operational merger between Konga and Yudala will bring immense opportunities for consumers in the e-commerce space. We urge all shoppers, consumers, merchants and clients to stay tuned as we unveil the massive ambitious contents we have to offer.”
Widely applauded by industry watchers as a masterstroke, the merger will broaden the range of products and solutions on offer within the Konga/Yudala stable, while giving the customers and merchants more options and access to an expanded variety of guaranteed quality offerings and payment methods.
The Konga Business platform will now include two distinct but fully integrated aspects including Konga Online, the e-commerce/marketplace platform and Konga Retail, the offline arm of the business. Both will be supported by Konga Pay, a Central Bamk of Nigeria (CBN)-licensed mobile money platform and Konga Express, a world-class logistics company with advanced delivery capabilities for internal and external customers.
