More e-commerce platforms to spring up amidst COVID-19

Amidst the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief executive officer of an indigenous e-commerce platform Sellbeta, Emeafu Elvis Chibuzor, has said that more e-commerce businesses and platforms will spring up in Nigeria.

He said in Abuja that as lockdowns and restrictions became the new normal, businesses and consumers increasingly went digital, providing and buying more goods and services online.

• Why Nigerians still sleep with hunger despite massive food production – Agric minister
  Mass exodus of doctors must stop

He said that these are driving up e-commerce’s share of global retail trade from 14 percent in 2019 to about 17 percent in 2020, as stated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Elvis predicted that e-commerce will likely maintain its trajectory throughout the recovery from COVID-19 and even beyond.

“According to Statista, Nigeria’s e-commerce revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate of 11.78 per cent between 2021 and 2025, resulting in an estimated market volume of approximately $10bn by 2050.

“With the increase in internet users in Nigeria and a likely third wave of COVID-19 Delta variants, it is most likely that Nigeria will experience another round of lockdown which will force most people to resort to online shopping which will invariably trigger establishment of more e-commerce platforms.

On the business model of his organisation, Elvis said he believes that sellbeta’s business approach will see the company grow exponentially within a short while.

He said, “We at sellbeta believe that our business structure will make provision for business to business (B2B), business to consumer (B2C), and consumer to consumer operations (C2C) which will serve a retail customer base that will continue to grow exponentially, offering products that span various categories including Phones, Computers, Men Fashion, Women Fashion, Home Appliances, Books, healthcare, Baby Products, Toys, personal care, Electronics and much more.”