After months of strategic negotiations with foreign investors Naspers and AB Kinnevik, the Zinox Group, Nigeria’s foremost integrated ICT solutions conglomerate and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), is now the majority shareholder in e-commerce giant, Konga – an unprecedented move that is widely expected to raise the profile of e-commerce in the country.
Naspers is a South Africa-based multinational internet and media group, offering services in more than 130 countries while AB Kinnevik, founded in 1936, is a Swedish investment company investing primarily in digital consumer brands.
The development signifies a remarkable return to e-commerce for the Zinox Group after it pioneered e-commerce in Nigeria with the launch of BuyRight Africa.com which struggled to cope with the absence of credit card and e-payment infrastructure over 12 years ago.
The acquisition is also understood to have passed all regulatory approvals by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Details of the mega deal indicate that the Zinox Group, arguably Africa’s most integrated technology group will assume ownership of the e-commerce group which includes Konga.com, Nigeria’s largest online mall; KongaPay, a CBN-licensed mobile money platform with over 100,000 subscribers and rated as one of the best mobile money channels in the country as well as KOS-Express, a digitally-driven and world class logistics company with advanced delivery capabilities for Konga and other structured companies nationwide.
Gideon Ayogu, Head of Corporate Communications at Zinox Group, who confirmed the development, disclosed that the organization is keen to take e-commerce in Nigeria to hitherto-unprecedented heights.
