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Konga: Leading the African e-Commerce Resurgence
By Bosun Idowu George, a freelance e-Commerce researcher, writes from the UK.
In early January 2018, a mega acquisition that would alter the equation in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, was about to go down.
On one side and spearheading this landmark acquisition was the Zinox Group, a Nigerian-headquartered but globally renowned technology group that had overseen over three decades of sterling and unmatched leadership in the Sub-Saharan African business terrain. On the table was Konga, one of the latter-day pioneers of the new wave of e-Commerce in Nigeria which, incidentally, was first ignited by Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of the same Zinox Group with his BuyRight Africa, the continent’s first e-Commerce platform, which struggled over 12 years ago with the absence of a structured payment system.
And on the other side of the negotiating table was Naspers, a South African-based serial investment firm and AB-Kinnevik, another investment firm with its headquarters in Sweden.
Both firms had overseen years of huge investment in Konga which, however, had failed to yield the desired ROI. For all its boundless potential, the world-class technology infrastructure driving its operations and its solid human capital, the previous owners of Konga were just not able to crack the e-Commerce bug. Despite making useful in-roads and expanding the scope of e-Commerce in Nigeria, Konga was struggling to stem losses and carve a sustainable path to profitability. For these investors, the question was whether to persist with pumping massive sums into the business and see out the e-Commerce waiting game, or cut their losses and walk away.
Naspers and AB Kinnevik plumped for the latter.
So, in stepped the Zinox Group and the announcement of its acquisition of Konga – a piece of news which reverberated around the globe and which, till date, is still widely regarded as one of the most brilliant acquisitions ever recorded in the African nay global business space.
In acquiring Konga, the jury was still out on whether the new owners – credible, ethical local-based but global business people with a track record of outstanding entrepreneurship – could succeed where Naspers and AB Kinnevik, with its war chest of funds, failed. Can Konga, under its new owners with a loss of about N34bn in her balance sheet as was rumoured, finally rise up and fulfil the latent potential it showed sufficient promise of, when it pioneered the marketplace structure which, reports say has now been adopted by the likes of Amazon, Alibaba and Jumia, among others?
For many e-Commerce watchers, it would take nothing short of a miracle.
But indeed, a miracle was afoot within the four walls of Konga, right from the day it came under new ownership. Three years down the line, investigations show that Konga is now seemingly reborn, a flourishing retail behemoth and a fitting standard-bearer for the African continent which has remained in need of an ethical, trustworthy brand it can count on in the e-Commerce space.
In tracing the trajectory of this beautiful bride of African e-Commerce and how it is now the toast of investors keen to get a slice of the business, it is important to state that, at the point of acquisition, Konga was perhaps written off by many industry experts.
As an avid e-Commerce researcher and enthusiast, I had followed keenly the narrative around the business from my base back then in the United States, especially from the foreign media right after its acquisition. The overriding sentiment then was one of quiet pessimism. However, one of the first things that caught the eye and which made Konga a business to watch was the merger of its operations,barely three months after its acquisition, with that of Yudala, another e-Commerce start-up with an excellent business model launched by tech whizkid Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, scion of the serial entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh. Again, the assumption of another renowned corporate executive in Nick Imudia, a former VP at Nokia as Co-CEO calmed nerves, especially in the assurance that innovation, experience and quality corporate culture would drive the vision because of the ownership of the new Konga.
Having said that, many proud entrepreneurs would have persisted with running both entities side-by-side, as a merger would have definitely involved giving up a few things on both sides. In the case of Yudala, it gave up its name and took on the Konga brand name while for Konga, it shed its blue colour for Yudala’seye-catching and striking fuchsia pink.
However, the grand merger of both companies,as decided by its new owners turned out to be a masterstroke, one in a long list of many brilliant strategies that has seen Konga rise to the summit of the Nigerian and African e-Commerce market.
For in merging these two powerhouses, Nigeria now had a powerful e-Commerce engine – a platform that can today take on all comers and give even the likes of Amazon and Alibaba a good run for their money, should they eventually expand their operations to Nigeria in search of the much-touted lucre that the country’s predominantly youthful and aspirational population holds.
No other e-Commerce player in Africa boasts the sheer reach at the disposal of Konga, arising from its composite nature. For the savvy online shoppers, it offers a cutting-edge online platform, complete with a surfeit of payment and fulfilment options while for the many others who are still stuck in their die-hard traditional shopping predilection, the physical Konga stores dotting the landscape are a ready-made answer.
In examining the way and manner Konga has quietly risen like a phoenix and its transformation into a viable brand that may list on the NYSE and the London Stock Exchange, it is essential to cite this template of its new owners as one to be adopted by budding entrepreneurs or studied in global business schools.
Prioritising a sound structure, solid corporate governance and ethics over quick gains or hype, as is often the fare in the sector, the new Konga is an investor’s wet dream, a reliable entity that is today worth its weight in gold.
For all who come in contact with the brand, there is no denying the place of its outlook as an ethical brand. Konga boldly declares that its policies leave no room for cooking the books, falsifying sales figures or fraudulent practices. Merchants on its marketplace platform face blacklisting or other sanctions when fake or sub-standard items or products are traced to them. Better still, Konga has in place strong partnerships with a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) which ensure that it remains the most trusted source for genuine products in the entire e-Commerce ecosystem.
With the foundation of the new Konga strongly rooted as an ethical company, the management has gone about its business of shoring up other aspects of the business.
In addition to ramping up its operational efficiencies and reducing losses to the barest minimum, as stated by Prince Nnamdi Ekeh during a recent interview monitored on Arise TV, the new owners have also invested strategically in a few verticals that have raised the bar. Among these is the capacity of Konga to reach shoppers at the last mile wherever they may reside, a factor made possible by strengthening Kxpress, an internally-owned, digitally-driven delivery channel, through which Konga has demystified the challenging pain-point of logistics which has driven many other players out of the market.
Furthermore, Prince Nnamdi Ekeh also referenced the company’s massive warehousing facilities which have undoubtedly empowered it to effortlessly close and deliver big tickets or service heavy projects. Konga was recently in the news for making available tons of laptops at reduced prices for Nigerians at the height of the global scarcity of units; a scarcity occasioned by supply chain breakdowns exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown. It also boasts a reliable mobile wallet – KongaPay – licensed by Nigeria’s Central Bank which delivers a number of useful services for subscribers, including paying for online shopping, airtime/data recharge, money transfer, utility bills payment and many others.
But it is in the expansion of its wings that Konga has truly shown its strength.
Today, Konga is not just known for its first love – retail – but has grown into an e-Commerce group that also has in its fold, a travel and tours agency, Konga Travels, which has racked up a number of local and international awards within a couple of years of its existence, in addition to its other existing subsidiaries – Kxpress and KongaPay.
Konga has also grown 800 per cent since its acquisition as proudly announced by Prince Ekeh in the course of the Arise TV interview, propelling it to the cusp of history as Africa’s first profitable e-Commerce player.
All these without any form of external investment…
But that is not all.
In Konga Health and Konga Food, two new subsidiaries which reports in the media say will disrupt the medicare and food delivery ecosystems, the management of this e-Commerce miracle is also preparing the grounds for long-term dominance.
Africa has long suffered from the absence of an ethical, reliable platform it can fall back on in the global e-Commerce race.
That is no longer the case.
In Konga, the evidence is there for all to see that finally, Africa now has a strong voice, an ethical leader that Nigeria and the rest of the continent can look up to.
DStv has launched a new campaign tagged “We Got You”, aimed at giving customers more entertainment value at the start of the year without additional cost.
DStv
The campaign, which runs from January 1 to February 28, 2026, allows subscribers who pay for their current package in full to enjoy an automatic upgrade to the next DStv package.
The initiative is designed to ease the pressure that often comes with January, a period marked by school resumption, tighter budgets and increased household demands.
Through the offer, DStv is rewarding customer loyalty by unlocking more channels, stories, sports, children’s content, local productions and international programmes at no extra charge.
Speaking on the campaign, Tope Oshunkeye, Executive Head of Marketing, West Africa, MultiChoice, said, “We want our customers to step into the year feeling valued.
“When you buy your package, we upgrade you because you deserve more. This is our way of bringing extra excitement, choice and convenience into your home.”
According to DStv, the offer is open to existing subscribers who remain active during the promotion period, customers who reconnect their decoders, and new subscribers who join between January 1 and February 28.
Under the offer, subscribers who pay for DStv Yanga will be upgraded to DStv Confam, Confam customers will receive DStv Compact, Compact subscribers will be upgraded to Compact Plus, while Compact Plus customers will enjoy access to DStv Premium.
The upgrade applies only to decoder viewing, and subscribers will revert to their original packages at the end of the promotion period.
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has officially given way to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), signalling a pivotal shift in the country’s revenue administration framework as the Nigeria Revenue Service Establishment Act 2025 takes full effect from January 1, 2026.
NRS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the landmark legislation in June 2025, alongside a comprehensive package of tax reforms designed to streamline compliance, expand the tax net and bolster federal revenue for critical infrastructure and social services.
At a colourful ceremony in Abuja on December 30, 2025, NRS Executive Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji, unveiled the agency’s new logo and corporate identity, describing it as a beacon of modernisation and efficiency.
Adedeji, who doubles as the pioneer helmsman, stated that the fresh branding embodies “a renewed commitment to a unified, service-driven revenue system” in line with global standards and Nigeria’s economic aspirations.
“The new identity underscores continuity in mandate, enhanced capacity and proactive taxpayer support, fostering trust and shared prosperity,” he added, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Dare Adekanmbi.
The NRS emergence caps decades of advocacy for tax overhaul, repealing the FIRS (Establishment) Act 2007 and vesting the new body with broader powers for revenue assessment, collection and accountability.
Judicial hurdles were cleared when an FCT High Court dismissed suits seeking to stall implementation, paving the way for the four key Acts — Nigeria Revenue Service, Tax Administration, Nigeria Tax and Joint Revenue Board — to roll out seamlessly.
Despite pockets of controversy, including claims of bill alterations, the Budget Office affirmed the laws’ authenticity, prioritising fiscal stability and investor confidence.
For ordinary Nigerians and enterprises, the NRS promises simplified processes, digital innovations and reduced red tape to ease compliance burdens while curbing evasion.
Technical Assistant on Broadcast Media to the Chairman, Mrs Aderonke Atoyebi, reassured that core values of integrity, fairness and professionalism persist, with staff nationwide driving the transition.
Industry watchers anticipate a surge in non-oil revenue, crucial as Nigeria navigates global headwinds, with the NRS positioned to elevate the tax-to-GDP ratio through transparent engagement.
Gold remains one of the most powerful commodities in the global financial architecture. It is widely recognized that, for traders in Nigeria, specifically, currency pressures, inflation expectations, and shifts in global liquidity make up the macro environment more often than not; hence, understanding the correlation of gold with key Forex assets is more of an economic insight than a trading tactic.
The correlation between gold and currencies, equities, bonds, and even energy markets provides a broader framework for interpreting global risk sentiment. A growing number of Nigerian investors use this correlation to hedge against inflation, read capital-flow trends, and adjust trading strategies across major currency pairs.
Why Gold Matters in Today’s Macro Environment
This can be explained by looking at the larger picture and how global factors either positively or negatively impact the price of gold: spiraling inflation, geopolitical tension, tightening by central banks, and the flight-to-safety dynamic that heightens in moments of market stress. African traders, especially those active with international brokers such as JustMarkets, are very sensitive to how gold performs not only as a commodity but also as a macro indicator.
Indeed, the strongest correlations of gold are more often found with the US dollar, major bond markets, equity indices, and energy instruments in periods of high geopolitical risk. Each one of these offers a different angle for Nigerian traders to approach macroeconomic changes.
Gold and US Dollar: The Most Watched Correlation
The inverse correlation between XAU and the USD remains one of the bedrock relationships in global finance. It usually weighs on gold because a stronger dollar raises the opportunity cost of holding the metal. Conversely, the opposite has occurred when the market has priced in rate cuts, rising inflation, or policy uncertainty.
This relationship provides Forex traders in Nigeria with a macro perspective:
USD strength; pressure on gold; bullish signals for USD-pairs like USD/JPY or USD/CHF
USD weakness; appreciation of gold; potential strengthening of the non-USD majors
This dynamic is often emphasized by platforms such as JustMarkets in their markets analytics, allowing traders to match the technical setup with real policy shifts from the Federal Reserve.
Gold and Bond Yields: A Window into Global Risk Appetite
Gold is highly sensitive to real interest rates. When US real yields fell, it sent gold higher because investors saw it as a hedge against inflation and thus a haven. Yet higher yields tend to dampen demand for precious metals.
To traders, this correlation is a reason for short-run volatility around announcements like:
US CPI
FOMC decisions
Results of Treasury auctions
In countries like Nigeria, when domestic inflation is high and Naira pressure amplifies sensitivity to global risk, the movement of gold often proves an early indicator of how capital might rotate between safe havens and risk assets worldwide.
Gold and Equity Markets: The Fear Gauge
While geopolitical tensions or recession fears tend to deflate equity markets, they strengthen gold. This negative relationship is considered helpful for traders looking to deduce spikes in volatility and risk-off flows. Examples include:
Sharp US30 or NAS100 declines coupled with XAU/USD rallies
Broad-based sell-offs driven by political uncertainty or commodity shocks
This dynamic helps explain to the Nigerian analysts focused on policy and political economy how global risk events transmit to the local market through capital-flow sentiment.
Gold and Energy: Transmission via the Inflation Channels
Although gold and oil are not directly correlated, both respond to inflation expectations. Surging oil prices can fuel inflation forecasts that support the price of gold.
This channel is particularly important in the case of Nigeria, a major oil exporter. When crude markets temporarily tighten due to supply disruptions or OPEC policy decisions, gold becomes a complement to hedge against global inflation risk.
Trading with the Use of Gold Correlations
A structured approach allows traders to put gold’s relationships into practice:
Start with the macro driver.
Identify whether inflation, geopolitics, or monetary policy is the primary force shaping markets.Translate the macro event into correlation expectations.
Example: falling bond yields lead to a weaker USD, which in turn supports gold and could lead to upside in EUR/USD.Use correlation clusters instead of isolated signals.
Gold + USD + bonds provide a more reliable picture than gold alone.Apply risk management aligned with volatility cycles.
Gold’s volatility often spills over into major currency pairs.
Market platforms like JustMarkets emphasize these cross-asset links to help traders simplify complex macro interactions into actionable insights.
Why Nigerian Traders Pay Close Attention
The Nigerian economy is highly integrated into global commodity flows; inflation cycles, dollar liquidity, and geopolitical developments tend to reach the local market faster than the pace at which policy adjustments can be made.
Gold serves as a barometer of global risk, a hedge against currency depreciation, and a signal of moves in the key USD pairs that headline Nigeria’s trading activity.
In a region increasingly active in the Forex market, understanding the relationships involving gold is not just about trading but also a strategic tool for analyzing global economic behavior
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