E-Business
Building Confidence in Nigeria’s Tough E-Commerce Market
By Sammy Lee
Despite the positive projections and huge potential locked in Nigeria’s emerging e-commerce landscape, the sector is proving more than a tough nut to crack for the majority of players in the country.
Even for the sector’s pioneers, the struggle is real.
E-commerce in Nigeria: An Evolution
Heralded by BuyRight Africa.com, a platform founded by serial entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh and which was challenged by the absence of credit card and e-payment infrastructure when it was launched over 12 years ago, e-commerce in Nigeria has always been and is still widely regarded as the next big thing.
The rise of latter-day powerhouses, Jumia and Konga also brought a flush of confidence in the sector. This was basically due to the keen interest from angel investors and venture capitalists, buoyed by projections of Nigeria’s booming youthful population and aspirational mindset of its growing army of digitally-savvy people.
The reality is, nevertheless, a bit less enthusiastic.
Jumia, owned by the Rocket Internet Group, has struggled to make its continent-wide business strategy work despite attracting considerable investment. Years of heavy expenditure on marketing and overheads coupled with glaring strategic deficiencies in how it has tackled Africa’s biggest market has turned the firm into a loss-making venture.
The company has also repeatedly taken some huge hits over product quality and bad press over the poor conduct of some of its staff. Jumia has sunk deeper into losses on an annual basis, with figures reportedly in the region of over $150m. Despite reporting a Gross Margin Value (GMV) of €163.4m in Q2 2018, its Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) tells a sorry tale of huge liabilities in its balance sheet. Further fuelling fears are reports of a likely exit for its biggest investors after it emerged that Rocket Internet was planning to sell off its stake in the firm, even as other investors – MTN, AXA, Orange, Millicom and Goldman Sachs have remained mute.
A Tale Of False Dawns
In little less than the space of two years, a number of promising e-commerce ventures have either quietly exited the Nigerian market or declared their decision to make a shift away from a decidedly difficult terrain, ironically one that is widely regarded as boasting the right mix of ingredients required in creating Unicorns that will match the likes of other global super-heavyweights such as Amazon and Alibaba.
According to research, the Nigerian e-commerce industry is currently worth over $17bn, with estimates indicating that the sector could account for over $29bn by 2022. For the likes of Gloo.ng, OLX, DealDey and Efritin, among many others, however, e-commerce in Nigeria is no child’s play.
Of the distressed lot, perhaps only Yudala, founded by a then-23-year-old Harvard alumnus, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh in 2015, was able to successfully navigate the Nigerian e-commerce terrain. Yudala had entered what was a keenly-competitive sector with a futuristic omnichannel strategy which fused a robust online platform with a chain of retail stores nationwide. In addition to pioneering a series of firsts, Yudala was equally responsible for the first drone delivery in the e-commerce world and also holds the record of being the first e-commerce company to introduce an offline version of the hugely popular Black Friday sales. The Yudala brand name was, however, absorbed into Konga after the combination of the operations of both firms in May 2018.
Gloo.ng founder, Olumide Olusanya, had cited the 2016 recession and its impact on business, a negligible Nigerian middle-class market and huge logistics challenges as reasons for the exit of the almost seven-year old e-commerce firm which positioned itself as an online super-store from inception. The story was not much different for Efritin, an online marketplace for used goods which officially pulled the plug on its Nigerian operations on January 9th 2017, barely 16 months after its official launch.
The announcement that Dealdey, Nigeria’s only daily deals website, was shutting down its Nigerian operations almost a year after suffering severe financial challenges which led to a mass staff cull, did not come as a surprise to many. The company had been struggling for a while to keep its head above water despite being the subject of a well-publicized acquisition in 2016 by Ringier Africa Deals Group (RADG), a joint venture between Swiss Ringier Africa AG and South African Silvertree Internet Holdings (Pty) Ltd.
Dealdey’s ouster came on the heels of reports that Career24, a leading online job portal owned by Naspers will be shutting down operations in Nigeria in March 2019. Naspers, headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa is the face behind much of Africa’s largest pay-TV business and newspapers and is widely regarded among the world’s biggest investors in e-commerce after a recent surge of investments in a number of online-based businesses on the continent.
OLX, an online classified ads firm founded in 2006 and another Naspers-owned venture, also ran into heavy weather in Nigeria and some other African countries where it shut down its operations. Although boasting a useful business model, issues involving the unscrupulous practices of some sellers and buyers on its platform and the inability of the company to find a lasting solution led to a massive loss of confidence and subsequent failure of the business in Nigeria.
For Chris Uwaje, Africa Chair for IEEE World Internet of Things (WIoT), the challenge in cracking the Nigerian e-commerce market lies heavy in the approach or business strategy adopted by most players, many of whom fail to situate foreign business models, ideas and strategies within the culture of the people and Nigeria’s existential realities.
According to him, the high failure rate in the sector can be attributed to an absence of reliable knowledge of the nuances and predilections shaping the average Nigerian’s shopping behaviour which local know-how and capacity brings.
Uwaje revealed that, when asked which of the current players they would invest in given a seed fund of $1m, over ninety percent of a select group of budding tech entrepreneurs he was mentoring had plumped for Konga.
“It came as no surprise because of the local know-how, strong international network, consistent success and decades of experience in the Nigerian technology sector at the disposal of the new owners of Konga. Aligned to this is the quiet way they have gone about in repositioning the business without the usual hype that accompanies most e-commerce ventures in Nigeria.”
“Nigeria remains a fertile business environment, especially for online-focused ventures such as e-commerce companies. It is also a country with peculiar challenges and a very strong traditional approach to retail which requires a deep sense of local know-how and understanding by players. This is one of the biggest hurdles faced by e-commerce start-ups here. Many e-commerce ventures run with foreign concepts and strategies more suited to foreign climes, making it harder for them to survive the difficult terrain that is the Nigerian business space.”
Dr. Wale Ogunfunwa, an e-commerce enthusiast, is of the same school of thought.
In his opinion, a lot of e-commerce companies copy what obtains in advanced climes such as Europe and the United States, with scant regard for the infrastructural challenges encountered here.
“Here in Nigeria, logistics remains one of the biggest headaches faced by e-commerce players as our transport infrastructure is severely underdeveloped. Worse still, there are no reliable physical addressing system in some major cities, not to talk of the hinterlands. If you transplant a foreign strategy that works in Europe where delivery and transport infrastructure are highly developed, for instance, but which fails to address these identified gaps here, then you are bound to fail,” he submitted.
“Trust is also a major issue. A customer who has been disappointed the first time is harder to convince. Winning the e-commerce war in Nigeria requires a strong player backed by core local know-how and resources that can build and own its own delivery and supply chain network that will reduce delays to the barest minimum, while also presenting a strategy that will accommodate Nigerians’ proclivity for traditional retail.”
What Hopes for The Sector?
Considering the struggles of other players, the battle for the soul of the Nigerian e-commerce market is presently a straight fight between Jumia and Konga. However, it is clear where the pendulum is currently swinging.
Acquired by the Zinox Group from erstwhile majority investors – Naspers and AB Kinnevik – in a landmark deal in late 2017, Konga was one of the pioneers of the e-commerce revolution in Nigeria. Its online marketplace model, which was initially criticized by rivals including Jumia, made it an instant hit with a Nigerian populace that had just been bitten by the e-commerce bug. The hugely popular model saw it rack up thousands of customers and merchants on its online platform which lived up to its name as Nigeria’s largest online mall, resulting in Jumia eventually copying and adapting the marketplace model.
In May 2018, Konga’s operations was merged by its new owners with that of Yudala, another bright star in the e-commerce space which had taken the e-commerce sector by storm with a futuristic omnichannel business model. This model featured a combination of its online platform with a growing network of brick-and-mortar stores across Nigeria. Interestingly, the foresight in its omnichannel model was justified by global e-commerce giants such as Amazon and Alibaba which wasted no time in adapting it – a development that goes to prove that Nigerians are capable of leading from the front.
Since its acquisition by the Zinox Group – arguably Africa’s most structured technology conglomerate with over 30 years of brilliant success in the Nigerian technology space – and its subsequent merger with Yudala, Konga has gone a long way in restoring investor and customer confidence in the sector.
Building Confidence Through Strategic Investments
The owners of the new Konga – renowned for years of successfully navigating Nigeria’s technology space – have retained the omnichannel business strategy that Yudala was famous for. Not only that, it has taken this further by focusing on expanding its reach across Nigeria’s considerably huge landscape – a move that remains instrumental to capturing more Nigerians in the e-commerce net. As at today, Konga boasts over 35 physical retail stores across disparate locations nationwide, with many more in the pipeline. The company boldly claims its target is to reach the 774 local government areas in the country.
Also working for Konga is the huge investment in technology that is repositioning the business and its operations for cutting-edge efficiency. In addition to a world-class partnership with global tech giant Microsoft through which it is revamping its technology back-bone, Konga also boasts a well-equipped internal technology team which has built a suite of robust applications driving the company’s operations.
The company has also invested heavily in the acquisition of massive regional warehousing facilities including the latest – an 85,000 square meter space in Lagos.
It is, nevertheless, through two internally-owned businesses with which it has resolved the pain-points of logistics and payments that Konga has distinguished itself from the rest of the e-commerce field.
For Konga, Kxpress – an in-house logistics company, has been a source of blessings. Through the significant investments made by its new owners, Konga possesses arguably the most efficient delivery/logistics company with the largest network of line-haul trucks, vans, buses and motorbikes in the e-commerce space and with the capacity to handle last mile delivery to every part of Nigeria. Deliveries are now handled within 24-48 hours and with minimal delays, further growing user confidence in the sector.
And through KongaPay, a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) licensed payment system owned by the company — Konga has also de-mystified the payment challenge. KongaPay, which works with all banks in Nigeria, allows users domicile funds in an e-wallet for their transactions on the Konga platform. In addition, Konga offers other options such as payment on delivery (POD), payment on pick-up of items and cash payment in all of its stores nationwide.
Efforts to speak with Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of the Zinox Group – Konga’s parent company – were unsuccessful. However, Nick Imudia, co-Chief Executive Officer, Konga Group, disclosed that the company is determined to change the e-commerce narrative in Nigeria for good.
“Creating confidence in the marketplace and in the minds of Nigerians of all classes is key to what we are doing. The Konga strategy is attuned towards considering the culture of the people, by providing them multiple platforms. Our intention is to continue to optimize and we certainly will not disappoint the trust reposed in us,” he disclosed.
The case for Konga is an even simpler one for Uwaje.
“The rise of e-Commerce in Nigeria will accelerate the innovative application and use of Drone Technology to deliver essential goods and services nationwide, facilitate rural community education as well as save critical lives at all levels of national emergencies.
“An e-Commerce platform such as Konga should be viewed as a too-big-to-fail enterprise…E-Commerce has great potential to reduce traffic congestions, infant and maternal mortality, deliver healthy living, wellness and improve meaningful life expectancy. These amongst others are the deep benefits of uplifting Konga as Africa’s foremost e-Commerce Platform,” he concluded.
Sammy Lee is a global e-commerce researcher based in the United States.
According to Kaspersky telemetry, almost every second email – 44.99% of global traffic – was spam in 2025. Spam consists not only of unsolicited emails, but can also include various email threats such as scam, phishing and malware.
In 2025, individuals and corporate users encountered over 144 million malicious and potentially unwanted email attachments, representing a 15% increase compared to the previous year figures.
In 2025, APAC had the largest share of email antivirus detections: it reached 30%, followed by Europe with 21%. Next came Latin America (16%) and the Middle East (15%), Russia and CIS (12%) and Africa (6%). As for individual countries, China had the highest rate of malicious and potentially unwanted email attachments, with the share of email antivirus detections of 14%. Russia ranked second (11%), followed by Mexico (8%), Spain (8%) and Turkey (5%).
Email antivirus detections peaked moderately in June, July and November.
Key trends in email spam and phishing
Kaspersky’s annual analysis has also identified several persistent trends in the email spam and phishing threat landscape that are expected to continue into 2026:
- Combination of various communication channels. Attackers lure email users into switching to messengers or calling fraudulent phone numbers. For instance, scam investment mailings may redirect victims to fake websites, where they are asked to provide their contact information, and then cybercriminals will follow up with a phone call.
- Usage of diverse evasion techniques in phishing and malicious emails. Threat actors frequently try to disguise phishing URLs, for example, with the help of link protection services and QR codes. These QR codes are often embedded directly in email bodies or within PDF attachments, which not only conceals phishing links but also encourages users to scan them on mobile devices, potentially exploiting weaker security measures than corporate PCs.
- Mailings exploiting diverse legitimate platforms. For example, Kaspersky experts discovered a fraudulent tactic that abuses OpenAI’s organisation creation and team invitation features to send spam emails from legitimate OpenAI addresses, potentially tricking users into clicking scam links or dialing fraudulent phone numbers. Additionally, a calendar-based phishing scheme, which originated in the late 2010s, resurfaced last year with a focus on corporate users.
- Refining tactics in business email compromise (BEC) attacks. In 2025 attackers attempted to become even more persuasive by incorporating fake forwarded emails into their correspondence. These emails lacked thread-index headers or other headers, making it difficult to verify their legitimacy within an email conversation.
“Email phishing shouldn’t be underestimated. Our report reveals that one in ten business attacks starts with phishing, with a significant proportion being Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs). In 2025, we saw an increase in the sophistication of targeted email attacks. Even the smallest details are meticulously crafted in these malicious campaigns, including the composition of sender addresses and the tailoring of content to real corporate events and processes.
“The commodification of generative AI has significantly amplified this threat, enabling attackers to craft convincing, personalised phishing messages at scale with minimal effort, automatically adapting tone, language and context to specific targets,” comments Roman Dedenok, anti-spam expert at Kaspersky.
The Cybersafe Foundation has collaborated with Google in strengthening cybersecurity resilience among Critical Community Institutions across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa with the launch of Resilio Africa.
Speaking at the event in Lagos, Confidence Staveley, Executive Director of the Cybersafe Foundation, noted that while many organizations recognize the risks posed by cyber threats, conversations often stall when it comes to implementation.
“Across Africa, Critical Community Institutions are facing an increase in cyberattacks often without the capacity to defend themselves. Sub-Saharan Africa is now experiencing some of the most aggressive cyber activity globally. According to a threat report by Kaspersky, the region recorded over 42 million web attacks and 95 million malware-based, on-device attacks in just the first half of 2025.
“What’s especially concerning is the nature of these attacks: spyware, password stealers, and backdoor tools dominate, with password-stealing malware increasing by more than 60%.
“In East Africa, the scale is even more stark. Kenya alone recorded 2.5 billion cyber-threat events in Q1 2025, driven largely by phishing, mobile money fraud, and misconfigured cloud services,” she stated.
According to her, the primary barrier is not a lack of willingness but limited financial capacity to fund adequate cybersecurity measures.
“The conversation drops off at the point of taking action,” she said, explaining that many institutions lack the budgets required to implement robust security systems.
She disclosed that the programme’s provision of 10,000 hours of expert cybersecurity consultation—offered at no cost to participating institutions would ordinarily represent services valued at over one million dollars. The support, funded through a grant from Google.org, will be delivered by specialists across four participating countries.
Staveley reaffirmed that the Cybersafe Foundation remains a non-profit organization focused on supporting vulnerable communities and institutions, and described Resilio Africa as a strategic intervention aimed at strengthening digital trust across the continent, ensuring that commerce and essential public services can operate securely in an increasingly digital society.
Although the programme currently covers Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, Staveley acknowledged that the cybersecurity challenges extend far beyond those countries, and expressed hope that demonstrated impact from the initial phase would attract additional funding to scale the initiative to more than the 200 critical community institutions currently targeted, including underserved Francophone nations.
“This work is free to the organizations we serve, but it is not free to deliver,” she noted, underscoring the need for sustainable funding.
Explaining her personal motivation, Staveley said she views Africa’s cybersecurity challenges as opportunities for impact. Despite her engagements on global platforms, she emphasized her commitment to Nigeria and the broader African continent, describing the region as both home and a priority.
She pointed to a growing mismatch between rising cyber threats and limited investment in cybersecurity infrastructure, arguing that bridging this gap is central to the Foundation’s mission.
Staveley also clarified that Resilio Africa will not collect or own user data from participating institutions. Instead, the programme will focus on strengthening internal controls, building capacity and guiding organizations toward improved data protection practices.
With Resilio Africa now underway, the Cybersafe Foundation aims to demonstrate how targeted support for critical community institutions can enhance digital security and build long-term resilience across Africa’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Kaspersky has announced a major update to its Threat Intelligence Portal (TIP), introducing a new Hunt Hub section alongside an enhanced MITRE ATT&CK coverage map and a significantly expanded vulnerabilities database.
The update strengthens organisations’ ability to investigate threats, understand adversary behaviour, and proactively monitor the most relevant risks across their environments.
According to the Kaspersky Security Bulletin 2025 report, Kaspersky’s detection systems discovered an average of 500,000 malicious files per day in 2025, marking a 7% increase compared to the previous year. As cyberattacks become more sophisticated and frequent, security teams need more than alerts – they need clarity.
The newly launched Hunt Hub is designed to address growing market demand for greater transparency and deeper insight into how modern detection technologies work. Integrated into the Threat Landscape section of the Threat Intelligence Portal, Hunt Hub provides centralised access to Kaspersky’s threat hunting expertise and detection knowledge.
Hunt Hub includes Kaspersky Next EDR Expert hunts, also known as indicators of attack (IoA) or detection rules. All portal users can explore the catalogue of hunts and their descriptions, while Kaspersky Next EDR Expert customers gain extended access to detailed recommendations and detection logic presented in a convenient, SIGMA-like format. Each hunt is mapped to relevant MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques and linked to known threat actors, giving analysts clear context behind every detection.
By making detection logic visible and structured, Hunt Hub effectively removes the “black box” from threat detection. It allows security teams not only to respond to alerts, but also to understand why a detection was triggered and which threat it is designed to uncover – improving trust in security technologies and increasing the efficiency of threat investigation processes.
As part of the update, the MITRE ATT&CK coverage map within the Threat Landscape has been significantly enhanced. The portal now brings together product coverage across SIEM, EDR, NDR and Sandbox solutions, MITRE ATT&CK techniques with scoring, coverage percentages, and related Kaspersky Next EDR Expert hunts in a single, unified view. This enables organisations to assess how well their security stack covers relevant attack techniques and identify potential gaps in protection.
The Vulnerabilities section has also been expanded, with the CVE database now covering nearly 300,000 vulnerabilities. In addition, the portal provides more detailed information on vulnerabilities that have been exploited in real-world attacks, helping organisations prioritise remediation efforts based on actual threat activity.
“With the launch of Hunt Hub in the Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Portal, we are opening up our detection expertise and giving analysts clear visibility into how and why threats are detected. This transparency helps organisations move from reactive alert handling to informed threat hunting and proactive risk management,” comments Nikita Nazarov, Head of Threat Exploration at Kaspersky.
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