Nigerian informal retailers turn tech-savvy to stock up amid pandemic

By Nneka Chile and Abraham Achirga
LAGOS/ABUJA, Oct 8 (Reuters) - When the coronavirus outbreak
forced shops to close in Nigeria's commercial capital Lagos,
kiosk store owner Funmilayo Akinola weighed up her safety
against the need to make a living.
After deciding that she couldn't afford to stop working, she
faced the challenge of replenishing her stock as the pandemic
has made it harder for informal traders to buy wholesale goods
due to safety measures disrupting supply chains.
The answer lay in a logistics firm that provides an online
marketplace where manufacturers and retailers connect.
Lagos-based Trade Depot delivered goods that she bought
using the company's app.
"(Without Trade Depot) I would have just locked up my shop,
because my husband will not allow me to go inside the market to
go and be hustling for goods," said Akinola.
She now uses her phone to order stock delivered by vans or
tuk tuks to her narrow kiosk in the frenetic Lagos district of
Mushin, where she sits surrounded by stacked-up goods, ranging
from drinks and tinned food to detergent.
Demand was particularly high during the month-long lockdown
in Lagos that ended in early May, said Akinola.
Trade Depot's chief executive officer, Onyekachi Izukanne,
said the company - which operates in six of Nigeria's 36 states
and was launched in 2017 - saw a 300% increase in gross revenue
in the year to September, compared with the same period in 2019.
Ikenna Nwosu, a logistics consultant, said the pandemic had
prompted a broader process of "digitization" that forced people
to shop online. This has opened new supply chain networks and
created employment opportunities as companies hire more workers
to distribute goods, he said.
"Its creating new revenue streams. That is just scratching
the surface of digitization," he said.