As mobile and social commerce continues its rapid ascent in Nigeria, accounting for over 70 per cent of online transactions, 440 Technology Limited, an AI-powered shopping aggregator, is revolutionising how Nigerian consumers and retailers discover products and deals globally.
With transactions in the mobile and social commerce sector expected to reach US$20 billion by 2025, a significant challenge faced by Nigerian merchants and small businesses has been the inefficiency of scouring multiple international platforms to find the best products at competitive prices.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of 440 Technology Limited, Gracious Akande, said the firm has developed a comprehensive mobile app that aggregates data from over 10,000 international stores spanning more than 100 countries to address this challenge.
“Our merchants were spending countless hours navigating through platforms like Alibaba, Shein, Amazon and Aliexpress.”
This often requires downloading and using numerous apps, making the process cumbersome and time-consuming.”
In addition to this logistical nightmare, merchants also struggled with international payment complexities, frequently needing to source foreign currencies like dollars, yuan and rupees, while grappling with unpredictable exchange rates. Merchants were constantly scrambling for different currencies to pay for their products, contending with speculative exchange rates,” Akande said.
According to her, to address these challenges, the firm developed a platform that offers users access to over 100,000 daily deals and discounts streamlined through advanced API integration and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) engine designed for real-time price discovery and comparison.
The COO of the firm, Elijah Ogunle, explained how the platform works. His words: “We don’t aim to compete with global e-commerce giants; instead, we bring every marketplace together on one platform. This unified approach simplifies the shopping experience, enabling users to interact with a single app to shop from a multitude of sources, including Alibaba, Flipkart, Shein, Instagram, eBay and Jumia.
“One of the standout features of 440’s platform is its ability to facilitate payments in local currencies. This innovation eliminates a significant barrier for many Nigerian consumers and retailers, who previously had to deal with multiple currencies and fluctuating exchange rates. The platform’s intelligent curation ensures that users are consistently presented with relevant and affordable options tailored to their preferences.
“Additionally, 440 has found that 89 per cent of their customers appreciate being notified when deals in their preferred product categories appear. They also benefit from connections to affordable logistics services for delivery, further enhancing the platform’s utility.”
Looking ahead, Ogunle said 440 aims to scale its operations globally, with a particular focus on Africans in the Diaspora, disclosing that the company plans to launch a selective diaspora rollout from Q3 this year.
“Nigerians abroad are requesting orders from merchants back home in a trusted, digital and hassle-free manner. “We believe we can be that platform that simplifies the commerce experience for Africans globally,” he said.
