MR Media, the newest and largest online shopping platform in Kenya, has announced an expansion of its operations in West Africa following the successful launch of MR Media Nigeria in the country's commercial capital, Lagos.
MR Media CEO, John Karanja, stated in a press statement released to newsrooms shortly after MR Media Nigeria went live online, that the West African operation will follow the models pioneered by the Kenyan and Ugandan operations which mainly focus on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Karanja adds that MR Media Nigeria will seek to tap on its diversified product line to gain an edge over entrenched competitors.
"Most businesses that we have been supporting in Kenya and recently Uganda through our platforms, are MSMEs engaged in Jua Kali, manufacturing, farming, online trading, phone merchandise, car dealers, property dealers, building contractors, service providers, IT firms, artists, job seekers and employers where they get an opportunity to reach their prospective customers easily and for free," Karanja says in the press statement.
"This model has proved very successful in Kenya and is responding well in Uganda within the short period both operations have been in place. We have been able to enlist over a million users cumulatively even as thousands and continue to enlist by day. This is what has motivated us to launch in Nigeria because we realize that the Nigerian MSME sector is faced with similar challenges as in Kenya and Uganda," the statement further reads.
MR Media Nigeria will allow vendors to list their products on its digital platform for free to reach more customers as more shoppers shift to online shopping owing to its efficiency and convenience.
In a first of it's kind model, the platform combines listing of both new and used products and also serves as a platform for job listing as part of a strategy to address the high unemployment rate in Nigeria as well as tap into this pool of millions of potential users.
As such, individuals can post job requests on MR Media Nigeria, while employers can also post job offers. MR Media Nigeria also lists tenders where interested businesses can browse through tenders listed by both government and private entities for the provision of goods and services.
Further, individuals who have household items such as electronics, utensils, furniture and property such as land and buildings may list the products on the online platform for free to reach buyers.
Mr Karanja explains in the press release how individuals seeking to dispose household items and property at competitive prices, can go about it.
"A vendor may choose to post items from the MR Media Nigeria main platform or may opt to open a sub-store called e-store where all the products are displayed from. Customers may shop for items from the vendors' store and interact with the store owner," Karanja says.
The CEO hopes that MR Media Nigeria will be a draw for many MSMEs which are cash-strapped and lack budgets for marketing and advertising.
The platform will also offer income-generating opportunities for agents who can post and sell on behalf of goods owners and earn a commission.
MR Media Nigeria targets to reach 1 million customers before the end of 2023 even as the Nairobi headquartered online shopping firm contemplates future expansion to Tanzania and Ethiopia in the hope of replicating the initial successes in Kenya and Uganda.
"Our primary aim is supporting start-ups that do not have huge budgets and who would otherwise be disadvantaged by the highly prohibitive advertising and marketing costs as they try to reach their respective customer bases. Buyers will also be advantaged in a big way as they can search a variety of items and compare prices from the platform before making their buying decisions," the CEO notes.
MR Media Nigeria will also be pioneering on the medical/health space by allowing individuals seeking urgent medical attention to, for instance, source for blood donations and any other urgent campaigns that are not cash related.
At the same time, MR Media Nigeria also has a premium membership plan where vendors pay a little fee for their product listings to be featured prominently on prime spots in the website to boost visibility among users visiting the site, thus much faster sales.
MR Media Nigeria is also wary to the fact that the online shopping industry has been plagued with growing cases of unscrupulous vendors defrauding buyers by, for example, failing to deliver goods that have been paid for or delivering substandard goods, different from the ones listed.
As a result, Mr Karanja notes that MR Media Nigeria has in place robust safety features to address such cases of online fraudsters even as it continually boosts its security features to keep up with the evolving clever tactics being employed by fraudsters.
"The main challenge in this industry is dealing with fraudsters who would take advantage of buyers and sellers. This is why our platform discourages users from sending money before due process is carried out. We also carry out frequent technology updates to deal with spammers," the CEO affirms in the media readout.
Online shopping in Nigeria has witnessed an unprecedented growth especially in the last two years following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which led to restricted movement in the country. Today, as many adapted to the new normal, prefer to shop online for among others, food, clothes, electronics, furniture, cosmetics, real estate and other products, due to its convenience and flexibility.
The increased use of mobile money and increased internet connectivity in Nigeria has also contributed to the growth of e-commerce as customers are able to pay for goods and services easily before their products are delivered.
Contact MR Media Nigeria:
Address: Prime Complex, Port Harcourt Street, Lagos
Email: info@mymrmedia.co.ng
Website: www.mymrmedia.ng