July 13, 2021

Ranked by experts and e-commerce pundits as the fastest-growing, most customer-friendly and best technically backed e-commerce house in Africa, Konga is priming itself for top-of-the-cream global positioning as it intends to list at the London Stock Exchange, LSE, with eyes also on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE

Africa’s fastest growing e-commerce giant, Konga, has since January 2018 when it was acquired by Zinox Group served intent to the global community of its determination to fly the African flag as the next frontier to claw its way into the global e-commerce pie. And it’s truly a big pie. Global e-commerce sales is put at over $27 trillion. It hit $25.6 trillion globally in 2018, up 8% from 2017, according to estimates released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD.

Popular statistics agency,  Statista, placed the total value of e-commerce in Africa at $16.5 billion in 2017. This is expected to top $29 billion by 2022. Good news: Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya are the three leading countries on the continent’s e-commerce space. The huge size of the Nigerian market and increasing deployment of mobile and broadband technology across the country give Nigeria a head-start above the rest.

Ranked by experts and e-commerce pundits as the fastest-growing, most customer-friendly and best technically backed e-commerce house in Africa, Konga is priming itself for top-of-the-cream global positioning as it intends to list at the London Stock Exchange, LSE, with eyes also on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE.

In just three years after its acquisition, its new owners have moved deftly beating all odds and growing its base and net worth at a speed that speaks to its operational smartness, seamless tech deployment and staff orientation that underlines uncommon commitment, a mix of zeal of youth and unmatched industry experience. Below are five chief reasons why Konga has continued to beat the odds including during the pandemic and its many lockdowns. These are the defining traits that tell the strength of Konga as a global game-changer.

Knowledge of the Market: Konga is wholly an African company founded by Africans with global vision. Among the litany of e-commerce outfits out of the continent, Konga best understands the challenges of the African market. In Nigeria where it has its head office and operational hub, it’s by far the only e-commerce house that clearly understands the multiple challenges including logistics, business culture, market behaviour, infrastructure deficit, consumer mannerisms, among others. And it has over time showed that it has the capacity to deal with such challenges.

The peerless logistics capacity demonstrated by Zinox Group in deploying over 80,000 units of Direct Data Capture, DDC, machines across INEC offices nationwide during the 2011 general election remains a reference point in time-critical logistics management in Africa, a feat that has remained unmatched. Konga has consciously grown the capacity to reach shoppers quickly at the last mile irrespective of their location, an exploit made possible by the strengthening of Kxpress, an internally-owned and managed, digitally-driven delivery channel. Deploying Kxpress, Konga has eradicated the pains of logistics which has driven many other players out of the market.

Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, co-CEO of Konga recently on Arise TV explained the myth behind Konga’s near-real time delivery of products. He attributed this to the company’s mega-warehousing facilities which have given it extra wings to effortlessly close and deliver big tickets or service heavy projects including those in far-flung places. It’s Konga’s mantra of ‘far is near’ and it has separated this ambitious firm from the rest.

Composite Model: The parent company of Konga under the Zinox Group, Yudala, is the first ever truly composite, Omni-channel e-commerce house in Africa, a model that some global brands in the e-commerce ecosystem have now domesticated. The combination of online shopping with physical in-store shopping (Experience Centres) gives Konga a head-start over competition. Physical stores aside presenting a platform for old-fashioned shopping, also means that there is always a Konga outpost near every shopper. This makes for quicker delivery of goods and faster attention to customers on any transaction. With all the buzz about online shopping, there are still a significant number of shoppers who would rather make the trip to a physical store than click the mouse to fill a cart.

Home-based technology: From Jeff Bezos’ Amazon to Jack Ma’s Alibaba, every e-commerce firm is as good as its back-end – the technology that drives its operations and that includes the manpower, the tech infrastructure including hardware and software. Here, Konga beats the rest. Its back-end tech is domiciled in Nigeria and this makes it possible to cut down on response time. Technology is usually touted as the backbone of e-commerce. For some, it’s the oxygen that e-commerce requires not only for business to consumer connection and vice-versa  but also as the tool for efficient management of clients’ orders, deliveries, payment for purchases and other operational issues including monitoring return of goods, time management and general consumer behaviour.

Financial Stability: E-commerce is capital-intensive. The likes of Jeff Bezos and Jack Ma have had to shovel huge sums into their business before they could break even hence e-commerce is generally regarded as a long-distance race and not a 100-metre dash. E-commerce does not only live off today, it must anticipate the future, the fast-changing paradigms of technology and build a buffer against financial turbulence. Konga is financially stable and it has funded its operations and expansion unencumbered, without loans and extenuating fiscal pressure. This has boosted its impressive growth since its acquisition, buoyed largely by the strong financial standing of the Zinox Group.

Culture of Innovation and Integrity: Konga has since acquisition fully evolved into the culture of its parent company. It’s a culture built over the years and it has advanced its growth and expansion. Konga cannot fail, it has left the curve of failure long ago. With incremental growth recorded every month, it is projected to achieve 100 percent growth by end of this financial year. Konga is built on a strong ethical foundation of integrity, product authenticity and operational efficiency. It’s a culture of ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG), a tradition that sets it apart from others. Public complaints still trail some e-commerce firm whom consumers accuse of delivering sub-standard products different from what they showcase. Not so with Konga. Its long-standing partnerships with a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) means that it remains the most trusted source for genuine products in the entire Africa e-commerce ecosystem.

• By Ray Umukoro: Blogger and pan-Africa ICT analyst