The transaction is supported by one of Jiji’s principal investors, Digital Spring Ventures.
According to a statement from Naspers, the deal enables OLX users in these countries to benefit from Jiji’s market-leading products and services that have been ranked number one by Nigerian Android users for shopping.
Anton Volyansky, CEO and co-founder of Jiji said, "we extend the warmest welcome to OLX’s users to Jiji and look forward to transforming the online retail experience in Africa as the region continues to transform itself economically and technologically. Jiji aims to provide its customers with the safest, most secure and enjoyable online shopping experience possible."
Sjoerd Nikkelen, General Manager of OLX in Africa, Middle East and Asia, "We are proud of our achievements in Africa, and the sustainable businesses we have built in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. We continually evaluate our portfolio of classifieds businesses to ensure a disciplined approach to how and where we allocate capital and management time. With our focus on accelerating the growth of other markets, now is an opportune time to sell our interests in these markets. We are pleased that Jiji will continue to provide the exceptional quality of products and services that the customers in these countries have come to know and enjoy from OLX."
Pending regulatory approvals, all users of OLX Nigeria, OLX Ghana, OLX Kenya, OLX Tanzania, and OLX Uganda’s sell-and-buy classifieds websites will be redirected to Jiji.
Jiji said it will strive to make the transfer seamless and to provide a high-quality user experience across all geographies.
Jiji is the highest rated app in Nigerian e-commerce with over six million unique active users, and 50,000 professional sellers listing over one million items in a rapidly growing market of 200 million people.
Last year, Business Insider SSA by Pulse exclusively reported that OLX will shut down its operations in Kenya and Nigeria.
E-commerce faces hurdles in Africa
The e-commerce market is still growing across Africa. With this deal, OLX joined Nigeria based Efritin.com among e-commerce businesses that have wrapped up in the west and east Africa over the past year.
Jumia, the loss-making e-commerce giant is all about to IPO in New York to scale businesses and hurdles on the African continent. MasterCard joined a number of growing investors in the business last week.
