Jiji.ng acquires OLX in Nigeria, other African countries
Classified marketplace in the country, Jiji.ng and OLX, have announced that both companies have reached an agreement under which Jiji will acquire OLX businesses in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, pending certain regulatory approvals, and OLX users in Nigeria will be redirected to Jiji.
Joining Jiji’s family will allow OLX users in these countries to benefit from its market- products and services. It is expected that OLX reach, combined with Jiji’s own proprietary search and delivery algorithms, will create a beneficial combination, giving users a radically streamlined experience and making the buying and selling process more convenient.
Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Jiji, Anton Volyansky, commented: “Users will always come first for us. We warmly welcome OLX’s customers to the Jiji family and we look forward to our new customers joining Jiji on its journey to empower the lives of its customers by providing a safer, more secure and enjoyable online shopping experience.”
Jiji Nigeria’s Country Manager, Yuliy Shenfeld, said the acquisition is the next step to fulfil the firm’s promise in making the Nigerian economy thrives by helping each and every Nigerian take their business online.Jiji claimed that more than 300,000 businesses have increased their sales and improved their family fortunes through it platform. “This was made possible by millions of customers who placed their trust in Jiji for the best prices and the widest range of products and services. In the wake of this transaction, the Jiji team of more than 500 people is excited to build a truly Pan-African classifieds empire with Nigeria being the epicenter,” Shenfeld stated.
General Manager, OLX in Africa, Middle East, and Asia, Sjoerd Nikkelen, said: “We are proud of our achievements in Africa, including the sustainable businesses we have built in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We continually evaluate our portfolio of classifieds businesses to ensure a disciplined approach to how and where we allocate capital and management time. With our focus on accelerating the growth of other markets, now is an opportune time to sell our interests in these markets. We are pleased that Jiji will continue to provide the exceptional quality of products and services that the customers in these countries have come to know and enjoy from OLX.”
Following closing of the transaction (which is expected to occur once certain regulatory approvals have been obtained), all users of the sell-and-buy classifieds websites of OLX Nigeria, OLX Ghana, OLX Kenya, OLX Tanzania, and OLX Uganda will be redirected to Jiji.
The Jiji team will strive to make the transfer seamless and to provide a high-quality user experience across all geographies.
Recall that February 2018, OLX, owned by Naspers, shut down its offices in Nigeria.The firm had informed that it made the decision to consolidate its business operations in Nigeria.
“We made a difficult but important decision in Nigeria to consolidate our operations between some of our offices internationally. Our marketplace will continue to operate here – uninterrupted – as it has since 2010, and we remain committed to the many people here who use our platform to buy and sell every month,” the company said.OLX, which launched in Nigeria in 2012, had said it had more than three million sellers and buyers registered on its platform in 2015, and reported that items valued at N12.1trillion were posted for sale on its website in 2016.
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