Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, Vice President of Yudala, pioneer online and offline e-commerce outfit, has disclosed that the company is set to hit a path of profitability by 2020, thereby making it the first e-commerce company in Africa to return profits within its first five years of operations.

Cornered by the media on the sidelines of Unusual Praise 2017, a gospel concert hosted by the Catholic Church of Divine Mercy in Lekki, Prince Ekeh noted that the facts and figures on ground show that Yudala is on track to set another record in what has been a ground-breaking journey in the Nigerian e-commerce industry.

“At Yudala, our strategy is clear and distinct from anything else on offer in the market today. Our fusion of online and offline is not only futuristic, but one that has being copied by other global e-commerce giants. On the back of this, we have seen a consistent growth trajectory that will see Yudala emerge as the first profitable Nigerian e-commerce company by 2020,” stated Prince Ekeh.

“Furthermore, we are renowned as arguably the most credible source of genuine products in the e-commerce sub-sector today. Every item on the Yudala platform, online or offline, is sourced directly from the manufacturers and this has clearly distinguished the Yudala brand in the marketplace.

“In addition, we possess superior logistics and delivery timelines that have endeared us to shoppers. As a result, we have consistently seen repeat purchases from our customers. In most cases, we have also been able to win over new shoppers, the majority of whom, having patronized other platforms, have not looked back since their first experience of Yudala. Aligned to the foregoing is the passionate, committed and highly professional team we have in the company, all of whom have continuously displayed the hunger and capacity to deliver on our mandate.

“Finally, we have God. You will agree with me that, with all these factors in place, the sky is just the starting point for us,” he enthused.

When asked if Yudala will follow the example set with Unusual Praise by supporting other religious concerts in future, Prince Ekeh revealed that the company will be sponsoring about five other concerts in 2018.

“We have a budget for these events and in 2018, we will be supporting other religious events, including Islamic ones. Yudala is a platform for all and we respect the diversity of faith we have in the country,” he said.

Launched a little over two years ago, Yudala has more than held its own in Nigeria’s keenly-competitive e-commerce sector, with the company’s futuristic fusion of an online platform with a chain of brick-and-mortar stores located nationwide instantly setting it apart from inception.

And despite the well-known struggles of other established players in the sector, Yudala has continued to post impressive results, a trend that has seen optimism of the company soon turning the corner of profitability.

Continuing, he noted: “We are aware of the challenges faced by players in the e-commerce sector. Research at our disposal indicates that less than 30 per cent of African e-commerce startups are profitable, with many of them hampered by lack of trust, shortage of financing, logistical difficulties and the largely-traditional approach to shopping still in play among these economies.

“Here in Nigeria, the case is hardly different as we have seen many e-commerce start-ups exit the scene prematurely while the older ones have also consistently posted huge losses.

“However, the story is different at Yudala. This is down mainly to our sound business model and approach. Indeed, while our investors expect us to deliver profits by 2022, our ambition is to surprise them by achieving this milestone earlier,” he concluded.

Apart from its ambitious retail roll-out strategy and network of physical stores which has helped the company reach many unserved and under-served members of Nigeria’s over 190 million population, Yudala has also been bold in making a statement of intent with its emphasis on genuine products and best prices, aligned to a number of landmark innovations and eye-catching strategies which has endeared it to an ever-growing audience.

In addition to pulling off the first recorded instance of a product delivery via drone in 2015 – a feat which captured the imagination of the e-commerce world – Yudala has succeeded in building up a steadily growing database of loyal customers, many of whom have come to rely on the company for the assurance of genuine products and unmatched best prices in the market-place which it stands for.

Earlier in 2017, the company acquired Yes Mobile, a cosmopolitan high-value retail outfit with a multiplicity of stores in Lagos in what industry watchers described as a strategic duplex acquisition; one which went a long way in showing the level of ambition and determination to lead in the retail space currently driving the company.