Modupe Gbadeyanka
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An online store owner, Ms Jumoke Akinsanya, has commended an e-commerce market leader, Jumia, for putting her through the rudiments of online sales.
“Jumia has taught me how to understand consumer behaviour in e-commerce; how to process orders and how to create products on the e-commerce platform,” Ms Akinsanya, the founder of Deeski.com, stated.
The entrepreneur said since she started selling her items on Jumia, her business has continued to record tremendous growth, noting that the platform deserves a commendation for its human capital development initiative.
She further said the continent market leader has been providing financial support to sellers on its platform through a lending programme.
“Through the Jumia lending programme, the company has helped grow the business bigger than when we started with them.
“We started with two staff and a smaller warehouse. Now we have a bigger warehouse and fourteen staff,” the small business owner said.
Ms Akinsanya added that joining the e-commerce train has eliminated some gender problems faced while running a brick and mortar store.
“One of the challenges I have as a woman is most times when I try to acquire brands, and I speak with them on the phone, they feel more comfortable.
“But by the time we are trying to have a physical meeting with them and they realise that the person that spoke with them the other time is the owner of the business, few of them get onboard immediately, while some of them decide to step out, probably take some time before they approve the business,” she said.
“However, with e-commerce, I have been able to overcome this fear because I don’t need to face brands or anybody.
“So, e-commerce has helped women to keep their face behind their business and anybody is ready to deal with a business that is growing,” she explained.
A report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in partnership with Jumia had said Africa’s e-commerce market could grow by more than $14.5 billion between 2025-2030, partly by increasing the number of women selling on online platforms and providing them with better training and financial support to help them match sales made by men.
