Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The website of top online commerce firm, Konga, is down and according to a notice to visitors on Wednesday, the platform is undergoing scheduled maintenance.
The company said it is upgrading its page to offer a better experience to customers, and to drive an improved platform that will further increase its value chain.
“We are undergoing a bit of scheduled maintenance. Sorry for the inconvenience. We will be back up and running as fast as possible,” the company said on its website when Business Post checked at the time of filing this report.
However, the mobile app of the company was up and running when this newspaper checked, allowing users to make their orders through the platform.
Business Post had reported earlier this year that Konga was targeting a $10 million daily turnover mark within the next four years and this latest development could mean that the company is actively chasing the goal.
Konga is a Nigeria-based eCommerce platform owned by Zinox Group, and Kilimall operates across Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria. Konga’s marketplace allows traditional offline retailers to sell their products via digital channels. Sellers deliver their products to a Konga drop-off centre, and Konga then manages the logistics. Konga offers affiliate marketing and comparison-shopping capabilities.
Founded in 2012 by Mr Sim Shagaya, the company raised a $3.5 million seed round from Investment AB Kinnevik and was able to broaden its scope to all of Nigeria from Lagos where it primarily existed. Over the years, it continued to expand but in 2017, trouble brewed and some of its staff were laid off while some of its services were suspended.
In 2018, Nigerian based Zinox Group acquired Konga and merged it alongside Yudala an eCommerce company under the Group. The deal saw the new owner take over stakes including its eCommerce domain, Konga.com, KOS Express which is its logistics arm, and KongaPay, the integrated mobile money payment channel.
