E-Business
Konga as e-Commerce Global Game-Changer
By Ray Umukoro
When global economy pundits describe Africa as the next frontier, they are merely reacting to strong stimulus coming from the continent, especially in the areas of improving agro-economy, commerce, internet penetration and increasing capacity to harness the abundance of raw materials within the continent.
Among these stimuli is e-commerce.
Africa is witnessing quantum leap in internet penetration and increased deployment of internet-enabled handheld mobile devices. This is the fuel driving up e-commerce on the continent once considered a clear outsider in the tech-driven e-commerce ecosystem.
At the cusp of the growing e-commerce market in Africa is Konga, trading under the name konga.com. Since its acquisition in 2018 by Zinox Group, in one of the most discretely executed corporate ‘coups’ and seamless acquisitions on the continent, Konga has continued to beat the odds and confound book-makers.
Within the first two years after its acquisition, Konga had re-invented itself, growing its turnover by over 800 percent, cut inherited serial losses and re-focused its corporate values by being more customer-centric, while deploying superior technology to achieve more. Leveraging light-years-ahead technology, Konga has been able to run lean and mean, delivering last mile in real time ahead of the competition and offering a new threshold of value-for-money in a manner never before witnessed in Nigerian e-commerce bourse.
E-commerce business all over the world comes bundled with several complications. It’s expensive usually with initial huge losses. It’s technology-demanding and requires conscious long-term investment and patience. To ride the tide, operators must work round these treacherous complexities which include heavy investment in back-end technology, innovativeness to adapt to fast-changing consumer tastes and technical paradigm shifts. All of these would require seamless and steady retooling of strategies.
In Africa, e-Commerce is largely the playground of the youths. A huge chunk of the patronage comes from the youths, the nouveau riche, the upwardly mobile, dashing generation of purpose-driven, career-minded men and women who have little time to spare on making physical, in-shop purchases. Konga appeals to this group because its leadership is driven by young men and women who understand the tapestries and nuances of multi-tasking and time-management in the modern era.
Konga’s ownership is truly Africa. This gives it a head-start in the continent’s e-Commerce space. It has been able to combine indigenous manpower with a network of quality foreign technical service providers. An e-Commerce house is as good as its back-end. Top e-Commerce outposts in the world who have remained at the cutting edge of competition despite the inevitable turbulence share a common denominator.
They are the ones that spend big on infrastructure. Back-end infrastructure and manpower capacity drive the process. Konga understands this and has spared nothing in upscaling its infrastructure and upskilling its staff to global standard. Within the first two years of its acquisition, the investors quietly and deliberately built top-notch nationwide facilities and restructured the firm’s technologies to fit into the new vision and ambition of emerging as a global brand.
On May 1, 2018, barely three months after its acquisition, Zinox merged Konga.com with its omni-channel retail outfit, Yudala. The product of that mega-merger was a swifter, bigger company which retained the brand name, Konga. This was how arguably the biggest e-Commerce and retail company in Africa was born. But beyond that, Konga has continued to astound market watchers with its innovativeness in payment services, delivery to last mile and a steady decline in inherited market churn.
Statistics clearly show that soon after the acquisition, Konga customer churn dropped considerably. Customer churn is the rate at which customers stop doing business with an organisation. It’s the percentage of subscribers who discontinue their subscriptions to a service within a given period.
In the e-Commerce market, customer churn has been a big issue as some customers after experiencing unsavoury transaction with an e-Commerce house, not only discontinue patronage but enlist to share their ugly experience with friends and people in their network (professionals, business associates and partners etc.) and, in the process win them over to also discontinue patronage of that organisation. This has been one of the downsides of some e-Commerce companies: their inability to retain existing customers, let alone grow their customer base.
A couple of factors are responsible for this. Lack of customer satisfaction, late and untimely delivery of goods to clients, foisting substandard products on customers and poor customer care service are among the reasons for customer-hesitancy and eventual withdrawal of patronage.
This is at the root of the poor marketplace performance of many e-Commerce outposts. The new owners of Konga have overcome these drawbacks, using high-end technologies, leveraging on their affiliations with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and clear understanding of the Nigerian environment.
A handy advantage of the new Konga is the combination of the online e-commerce strength of Konga.com and the nationwide branch network of Yudala. This has helped them to deliver a truly omni-channel retail for the first time in Africa.
The heavy behind-the-scene investment in infrastructure within the first 18 months of acquisition coupled with the reliance on physical Experience Centres (neighbourhood well-stocked physical Konga stores) largely ignited the fire of sustainability and profitability. This explains the miracle of Konga breaking even barely three years after the acquisition.
A combination of these factors plus the company’s ability to disrupt the market form the basis for the new push by Konga to list at the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Analysts believe that with its strong showing in Africa, Konga listing on the LSE would raise the bar for African investors hunting fortunes in the global market. It’s considered the game-changer for African investors.
Konga, as an African brand, has shown capacity to adapt, innovate and create value for both customers and investors. Going global will only help its team of young outliers rack up return on investment as well as improve the continent’s business profile on the global investment index.
Data from Statista, a renowned statistics portal, reported that the total value of e-Commerce in Africa grossed $16.5 billion in 2017 and is expected to hit $29 billion by 2022. It’s no surprise that Konga has become the fastest-growing e-Commerce house in Africa.
This further underscores the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) e-Commerce Index Report 2018 which placed Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya as accounting for more than half of the online shoppers in Africa.
Nigeria is reputed as Africa’s largest business to consumer e-commerce market in terms of both number of shoppers and revenue and Konga is at the core of this market volume. This is what it’s taking to the global market: an ingrained ability to re-invent itself at all times, innovate through the contours of competition and grow its customer base. When tomorrow comes and Konga, the e-commerce heartbeat of Africa, lists at the LSE, Africa would have made a bold statement: We are not the continent ruined, we are the continent ready to roll.
Author: Ray Umukoro, pan-Africa ICT blogger, writes from Lagos
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.
This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.
The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.
He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.
This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.
GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.
The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”
As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.
With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.
Okitipi Samuel, a Nigerian man, has been taken into custody by the Nigeria Police Force for his alleged role in a global cyberattack on Microsoft 365 users.
Benjamin Hundeyin, Force public relations officer, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the outcome of investigations carried out by the National Cybercrime Centre of the Nigeria Police Force.
Hundeyin said the centre, under the leadership of Ifeanyi Uche, its director and Commissioner of Police, commenced investigations in collaboration with Microsoft, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency.
According to him, investigations revealed that a phishing toolkit known as “Raccoon 0365” was used to create fake Microsoft login portals to harvest user credentials and unlawfully access email accounts belonging to corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational institutions in several countries.
“This investigation commenced following credible intelligence received from Microsoft USA through the FBI, indicating that a malicious phishing toolkit known as Raccoon0365 was being used to create fake Microsoft login portals, harvest user credentials, and unlawfully access the email accounts of corporate organisations, financial institutions, and educational establishments,” Hundeyin said.
He added that between January and September 2025, several reports of unauthorised access to Microsoft 365 accounts were traced to phishing emails designed to mimic legitimate Microsoft login pages, enabling business email compromise, internal phishing, data breaches, and other cyber-enabled fraud.
Hundeyin said digital forensic analysis and cryptocurrency tracing identified wallets connected to the illegal operation.
He noted that operatives were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, leading to the arrest of three suspects identified as Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel between September 20 and October 4, 2025.
“Following extensive digital forensic and technical intelligence analysis, the centre conducted cryptocurrency tracing that identified suspicious wallets connected to cash-out schemes.
“Acting on actionable intelligence, operational teams were deployed to Lagos and Edo states, resulting in the arrest of Joshua, James, and Okitipi Samuel. Searches at their residences led to the recovery of mobile devices, laptops, and other digital exhibits linked to the fraudulent scheme,” he said.
Hundeyin identified Okitipi Samuel, also known as “0365” and Moses Felix as the principal suspect and developer of the phishing infrastructure.
He added that investigations confirmed Samuel unlawfully used the email details of one of the arrested individuals without consent to register some of the accounts used in the operation.
The police spokesperson said further investigations revealed that the identities of Joshua and James were used without their consent.
“There was no evidence linking them to the creation or operation of the phishing scheme. They were victims of identity theft,” Hundeyin said.
He said a prima facie case had been established against Samuel for identity theft, unlawful access to computer systems, creation and distribution of malicious software, unauthorised interference with network data, and aiding and abetting fraud.
Hundeyin added that the suspect would be charged under relevant provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2024.
He said the suspect would be prosecuted in Nigeria, noting that the country has the capacity to enforce its cybercrime laws, although extradition could be considered if formally requested through due process.
Hundeyin assured Nigerians that the police, under the leadership of Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of Police, would continue to protect the country’s digital ecosystem and urged citizens to practise good cyber hygiene by being cautious when clicking links and sharing personal information online.
Speaking separately, Ifeanyi Uche, director of the National Cybercrime Centre, urged Nigerians to exercise caution online.
Uche advised members of the public to avoid clicking on links from unknown or unexpected sources, noting that such links often contain malware or phishing tools designed to compromise devices and personal data.
He warned that indiscriminate clicking of links or responding to unsolicited emails could lead to unauthorised access to personal and corporate accounts, urging citizens to “wash their cyber hands” by verifying sources before taking action online.
Nigeria has unveiled a comprehensive, multi-pronged strategy designed to localise WSIS+20 commitments. This roadmap accelerates national transformation by prioritising robust infrastructure, transparent internet governance, and advanced cybersecurity through deep stakeholder collaboration.
Unveiled in New York at the Nigerian high-level side event titled “Re-Imagining Digital Cooperation for Sustainable Development: From WSIS+20 Vision to Local Action,” the strategy cements Nigeria’s position as a primary architect of the world’s digital future.
Speaking at the event, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE represented by Director, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Dr. Dimie Shively Wariowei said Nigeria’s approach is deliberately aligned with the four core activity areas identified under the ongoing WSIS+20 review process.
According to him, the focus areas provide a practical framework for translating global digital commitments into measurable national outcomes, ensuring that international resolutions drive inclusive growth and sustainable digital development at the country level.
Inuwa identified digital infrastructure as the foundation of effective localisation, noting persistent challenges in extending connectivity to underserved and remote communities. Beyond infrastructure gaps, he highlighted affordability constraints and digital literacy deficits, stressing that addressing these issues remains central to Nigeria’s digital inclusion drive.
He explained that government alone cannot shoulder the burden of nationwide digital infrastructure deployment, given Nigeria’s vast geographical spread, hence the adoption of collaborative Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models. He disclosed that Nigeria, in collaboration with the World Bank, is implementing a major fibre-optic project spanning about 90,000 kilometres nationwide to boost connectivity.
The NITDA DG also revealed that the current National Broadband Plan, which has guided broadband expansion in recent years, is nearing completion, with plans underway to renew and reposition it for the next five years. The renewed plan, he said, will strategically target increased broadband penetration as a catalyst for digital access and economic growth.
On internet governance, Inuwa referenced Nigeria’s active participation in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), noting that the country successfully hosted its annual national IGF. He said the forum operates on a multi-stakeholder model that brings together government, the private sector, civil society and the technical community to foster cooperation and informed policy dialogue.
Cybersecurity, he added, remains a critical pillar of Nigeria’s localisation efforts. He cited the existing Cybersecurity Act and ongoing efforts to strengthen the legal framework through a reviewed version currently awaiting parliamentary approval. These measures, he said, are designed to mitigate risks associated with increased internet use and to protect users and critical digital infrastructure.
Inuwa further stressed Nigeria’s ambition to play a leadership role in advancing digital cooperation across Africa through inclusive, multi-stakeholder engagement. He underscored the importance of coordinated national data collection, noting that reliable, country-specific data is essential for tracking progress and presenting Africa’s digital development story on the global stage.
He concluded that sustained engagement and follow-up actions arising from the WSIS+20 review would strengthen digital cooperation among African countries and ensure that global digital commitments translate into tangible national and regional impact.
Stakeholders commended Nigeria’s efforts in the digital space, acknowledging the country’s growing role in shaping Africa’s digital future.
Earlier, Ms. Jennifer Chung, Co-Convener of the Informal Multi-Stakeholder Sounding Board (IMSB), praised Nigeria for convening a broad-based, multi-stakeholder delegation and for its commitment to the meaningful implementation of WSIS+20 outcomes.
Chung stressed the growing demand for localised WSIS follow-up mechanisms, noting that platforms such as the annual IGF, National and Regional IGF Initiatives (NRIs), and youth-led forums are vital for tracking progress towards the 2030 Agenda and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
She described the WSIS+20 review as a critical step toward effective monitoring, reliable data collection and evidence-based evaluation, particularly for developing countries in the Global South. According to her, these measures are essential to achieving WSIS targets and ensuring that no region is left behind.
Drawing parallels with the Asia-Pacific region, Chung noted that challenges around affordable and meaningful connectivity remain widespread across developing economies. She emphasised that expanding broadband penetration and reducing the cost of access are crucial to closing digital divides in Africa, Asia-Pacific and other parts of the Global South.
She also highlighted the need to enable active citizen participation in emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and future innovations such as quantum technologies, stressing that inclusive digital access is key to maximising the benefits of digital transformation.
Reflecting on the WSIS+20 review process, Chung praised the innovative and inclusive approach adopted through the informal multi-stakeholder sounding board, describing it as one of the first of its kind in global digital governance. She called for sustained collaboration among governments, the private sector, civil society and the technical community to carry the WSIS vision from global commitments to local action.
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