By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An entrepreneur, Ms Jumoke Akinsanya, has narrated how the collateral-free loans she obtained from an e-commerce giant, Jumia, influenced the expansion of her business.
Ms Akinsanya, the owner of Deeski.com who also sells groceries and home essentials on Jumia, disclosed that the platform has helped her company achieve a lot in the last five years.
According to her, she now has an opportunity for direct access to big companies, facilitated bulk purchase, and improved her business workforce from six to 12.
Business Post reports that Jumia lending is a small business loan open to sellers on the Jumia platforms to help grow and expand their businesses.
While speaking on the benefits of the initiative, Ms Akinsanya said the loan application process is fast, straightforward and convenient as it only takes less than 24 hours and the latest 48 hours to get the loan.
“My first application was the quickest of it. I just saw the loan application popup that I was qualified to get a loan on Jumia.
“I did it on a Saturday, and by Monday morning I got a call, and before the close of business on Monday I got the loan. It made me excited because I was able to get stocks instantly. I have since applied for the loan about five times.
“For me, it’s very simple once you are able to provide everything they want, you get the funds. You get your loan, you use the money to process your orders, and then Jumia pays you back. They take their loan and the job is done. And if you want to renew, just apply on the platform.
“I don’t think everyone selling on Jumia understands what it means to get the loan. For me, as long as you are getting the loan through the right channel and for the right purpose, it’s a good deal,” she said.
Speaking on the impact of the facility on her business, she said, “It has been really exciting five years selling on Jumia and with the help of Jumia, we have been able to achieve a lot of things.
“Jumia has given a lot of opportunities, but one I will like to talk about is the Jumia lending platform. It has helped us to grow in the past three years. And it’s a collateral-free loan, that’s the best part of it.”
“I have been using the Jumia Lending platform to grow my business. In the beginning, we were doing it in bits, and a few times we were able to process our orders when we got them.
“But with Jumia lending, we’ve been able to buy in bulk and now have access to companies to purchase directly from them and that has helped expand our store.
“When we started, we had 300 assortments, but now we have 900. I have been able to increase my workforce as well.
“We started with six staff and we are about twelve now. Right now, we are running online but we’ve been able to expand our store. We don’t have an open store; we prefer to run online with the help of Jumia lending platform,” she added.
Adedapo Adesanya