MallforAfrica Brings US, UK Goods To Nigeria

When thinking about where the next platform for the global mall would be, most wouldn’t peg it to be in Nigeria. But with the advancement of eCommerce solutions in the country and the help of one business, that’s just the place where the online global mall is thriving.

That business is called MallforAfrica, an online shopping service that has taken the Nigeria online shopping market by storm by providing consumers in the country an outlet to buy goods from the U.S. and U.K. In a New York Times article featuring the company, Nigerian resident Tunde Adebayo was interviewed about his experience of becoming an online shopper in a country where the option was not previously popular.

“In Nigeria we’re sometimes skeptical about online businesses,” he told the Times. This is mainly because of difficulty getting items shipped into the country in a reliable and affordable method, fears of fraud and the nuance of getting products through customs. According to The Times, Nigerian stores have limited options for goods, but there haven’t been many online options because of the reasons listed above. That’s where MallforAfrica changed the online shopping scene for the country.

MallforAfrica was started by two brothers, Chris and Tope Folayan — both of whom attended U.S. colleges. Tope got his MBA from Northwestern and returned to Lagos, where the brothers grew up, while Chris remains in the U.S., according to the Times. MallforAfrica has attracted the eye of major venture capital partners, which appears to be a growing trend in the Nigerian region, particularly Lagos.

When Chris was working in the U.S., he would stock up on goods that were harder to get his hands on in Nigeria. This meant packing all sorts of clothes and jewelry that he could stuff in a few suitcases. That’s when the idea clicked — why not offer an online marketplace that brings goods from places like the U.S. and the U.K. into Nigeria? And MallforAfrica was born.

Here’s how the online shopping service works: Consumers use MallforAfrica’s Web or mobile app to make an order and the company makes a payment to the retailer. MallforAfrica gets the goods delivered to its U.S. warehouse and then they are shipped to Nigeria. Home delivery is available, but most customers opt to pick up at one of MallforAfrica’s locations, which are similar to the experience of picking up at a delivery warehouse. MallforAfrica charges a 3-5 percent fee on the cost, and the customer also covers taxes and other fees. And according to The Times’ report, the order process to get the goods takes between four and 15 days.

And the business model seems to have paid off, as the NY Times cited Internet Retailer’s report of annual sales figures for the company, which were said to be between $15 million-$20 million in 2014.

Henrietta Onwuegbuzie, academic director for the owner-manager program at Lagos Business School told The Times that “tech entrepreneurship in Lagos is emerging and blowing up rapidly,” and that eCommerce is “one of the [country’s] most promising sectors.” While many eCommerce retailers have been hesitant to enter the African countries, mainly due to an unfamiliarity of the region, the Folayan brothers were able to use their personal experience, mesh it with their educational experiences, and return a booming online shopping option to their home country.

“It’s just not a region [online retailers are] comfortable with,” Chris Folayan told The Times. “They’ve never been there and they don’t have a sense of the economy.”

Luckily for Nigeria and its growing eCommerce scene, the Folayan brothers did, and now MallforAfrica is filling that void by helping residents in that country get the goods they want without the hassle and expense they experienced before.