BREAKING NEWS!! One Year After Efritin Shuts Down, OLX Has Shut Down Also
Naspers owned OLX, one of Africa’s leading
e-commerce platforms has Closed down
operations in Nigeria and Kenya.
Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa (BI SSA)
confirmed from several internal sources within
both territories, the closure of its operations in
two of Africa’s strongest markets.
OLX, founded as an alternative to Craigslist
and fully acquired by South Africa media giant
Naspers in 2010 has been struggling to make
its businesses in Kenya and Nigeria viable
since it entered those markets in 2012.
Business Insider SSA understands that staff of
the company in Nigeria and Kenya were
formally informed of the decision on Tuesday
with a notice of termination to staff beginning
in March, followed by management team in
April.
The shutdown and an almost non-existent on
ground operation in Ghana means that the
country will now fully focus on its strongest
market on the African continent in South
Africa.
It will be interesting to see what next steps
OLX takes in Africa. Will the business in the
market run remotely?
It is not clear the number of staff that has
been affected by the decision but in Kenya a
lot of livestock and agro based clients of the
platform will be disappointed with the platform
being one of the main mediums of selling farm
products as well as a large car selling base.
OLX joins a long list of e-commerce
businesses who have wrapped up business in
west and east Africa over the past two years
after failing to break even.
In 2017, Nigeria based Efritin.com closed
down with then CEO Nils Hammer, citing high
cost of data, poor internet penetration and
adoption as well as economic woes of the
country as the prevalent factors responsible for
their exit from the Nigerian e-commerce
market.
Jumia has also had to consolidate all its
assets into single units to reduce overhead
costs. In Ghana, the initial success of Tonaton
has given way to a difficult few years.
Business Insider SSA has reached out to
management of OLX for comment on the
development.
It’s a pity to see OLX leave us
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