Banking
2016 Jumia Black Friday Records Huge Success
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The 2016 edition of Jumia Black Friday may have come and gone, but the excitement and taste of success still lingers for the sellers, sales agents and community of entrepreneurs who experienced impressive sales and positive customer feedback during the annual sales event.
During the 12 days of Jumia Black Friday, about 8 million visitors visited Jumia Nigeria’s website to partake in its sales.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of orders placed during the Jumia Black Friday, 75 percent of orders had shipped by Friday November 25th.
More than 13,000 sellers on the Jumia platform participated in Jumia Black Friday offering up to 70 percent discounts. This was in addition to the major ‘hero deals’ sponsored by key partners like Binatone, Polystar, HP, Innjoo, Infinix, Etihad and MTN.
“This year’s Jumia Black Friday was a strong showing and collective effort,” said Juliet Anammah, Jumia Nigeria CEO. “We’re particularly excited about the sellers and sales agents who pleasantly reported a big jump in sales and increased incomes.”
Andrew Ewona, the owner of Renda Clothing, is one of the more than 13,000 sellers who participated in Jumia Black Friday by offering discounts on a wide selection of products.
“I sold my items between 20–40 percent discount, and my orders increased by 150 percent during Black Friday,” Ewona said of Renda clothing which specializes in female clothing.
Jumia sellers like Ewona are small entrepreneurs, suppliers and manufacturers who sell their products on the Jumia website to reach larger audiences and increase their incomes: once a customer places an order, they drop off the products at Jumia warehouses to be quality checked and shipped to customers.
“I got feedback that customers were happy with my products and a major factor I think is because of the rigorous quality checks Jumia conducts,” Ewona said who has been on the Jumia platform for four months.
Omowunmi Adebayo, a J-Force Talent Manager, reported a 500 percent increase in sales revenue among her team of independent sales agents, also known as JForce agents.
“During Black Friday, I had sales agents who attested to the fact that Jumia had items that were more than 50 percent cheaper than what they’ll get in the market,” Adebayo reported.
“We had a lot of customers purchase HP latops, InnJoo Max 3, a person bought 200 pieces of Tecno L8. According to [the agent], she got the Tecno L8 15% cheaper than what we will get in the market.”
The Jumia J-Force programme has empowered 45,000 agents who have received sales training and make a living selling products to customers, families, friends and colleagues.
Jumia Nigeria CEO, Juliet Anammah attested to this as narrated how all the teams across company joined the warehouse team from Monday to Sunday, picking, checking and packing the thousands of orders customers placed. “All hands were on deck to make sure we delivered to our customers more discounts and more convenience for a successful 2016 Black Friday experience.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration to enable fast money transfers into Nigeria has been entered into between Flutterwave and Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service.
The partnership allows Xoom transfers to be converted by Flutterwave and settled locally in Naira, enabling quick transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts at Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, and additional participating banks across Nigeria.
The deal also enables Xoom’s global network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing users globally to send funds directly into Nigerian bank accounts with improved speed and efficiency.
Nigeria is the leading remittance recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving over $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. Despite this volume, receiving international payments has historically remained complex due to FX constraints and settlement delays. This collaboration helps address those challenges in a market of more than 232 million people, where the ICT sector is projected to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027.
By combining Xoom’s expansive reach with Flutterwave’s local compliance and banking partnerships, the two companies are providing a more accessible financial corridor for the continent.
Xoom, a PayPal service, is a fast and secure international digital money transfer service that enables consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload phones for friends and family in approximately 160 markets globally.
As part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem, Xoom leverages advanced fraud protection, compliance capabilities, and a trusted global network to help millions of customers move money quickly and securely across borders.
“We’re excited to have been chosen by Xoom for their Nigeria expansion. Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy. This helps make it easy and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders,” the chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga GB Agboola, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
