By Abdallah el-Kurebe, Editor
Jiji.ng, Nigeria’s largest classifieds marketplace, has reached an agreement to redirect OLX users to Jiji as well as acquire OLX businesses in four other countries, building a leading pan-African classifieds business.
Jiji and OLX on Thursday announced in a statement made available to Newsdiaryonline said both companies had reached an agreement under which Jiji would acquire OLX businesses in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, pending certain regulatory approvals, and OLX users in Nigeria would be redirected to Jiji.
According to the statement, joining Jiji’s family would allow OLX users in these countries to benefit from Jiji’s market-leading products and services.
OLX reach, combined with Jiji’s own proprietary search and delivery algorithms, would create a beneficial combination, giving users a radically streamlined experience and making the buying and selling process more convenient.
Anton Volyansky, CEO and co-founder of Jiji said, “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”.
Nigeria’s country manager of Jiji, Yuliy Shenfeld said, “This acquisition is the next step to fulfill our promise in making the Nigerian economy thrive by helping each and every Nigerian take their business online. So far, thanks to Jiji, more than 300,000 businesses have increased their sales and improved their family fortunes.
“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.”
Also, the General Manager of 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.”
Jiji added that with the close 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 would be redirected to Jiji.
The Jiji team would strive to make the transfer seamless and to provide a high-quality user experience across all geographies.
