Glovo targets Nigeria’s informal economy with Lagos commerce summit Push

Glovo is doubling down on Nigeria’s fast-growing digital commerce market, hosting its Future of Commerce Summit 2.0 in Lagos next week as competition intensifies among platforms seeking to capture small business activity moving online.

The Spain-founded delivery and quick commerce company said the summit, scheduled for April 22 at Landmark Events Centre, will bring together policymakers, entrepreneurs, and tech leaders to discuss how digital tools can expand access to commerce across Nigerian cities.

The event signals Glovo’s push to position itself not just as a delivery service, but as a broader infrastructure player for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), a segment that drives most of Nigeria’s economic activity but remains largely informal.

“Local businesses are at the heart of Nigeria’s economy, and technology is key to helping them scale,” said Reni Onafeko, interim general manager of Glovo Nigeria. She added that the summit will focus on expanding digital access and building sustainable growth models for entrepreneurs.Nigeria’s commerce landscape is changing quickly.

Rising smartphone use, urbanisation and a young population are pushing more transactions online. Yet, a large share of small businesses still struggle with logistics, payments, and visibility, gaps that companies like Glovo are trying to fill.

The Lagos summit comes as global and local players compete for dominance in Africa’s quick commerce space, where delivery times, merchant onboarding and last-mile logistics are becoming key battlegrounds. Firms are increasingly targeting neighbourhood stores and informal retailers, aiming to digitise inventory and connect them directly to consumers.

Glovo said this year’s summit will build on its inaugural edition by focusing on how digital platforms can unlock growth beyond major cities. That reflects a broader industry shift toward secondary markets, where competition is lower but infrastructure challenges remain high. Such gatherings are also part of a wider strategy by tech firms to shape policy conversations around digital trade, logistics regulation and urban mobility, areas that directly affect their operations.

For Nigeria, the stakes are high. Expanding digital commerce could improve tax collection, create jobs and formalise parts of the economy. However, challenges such as poor infrastructure, high inflation and limited access to financing continue to weigh on small businesses.

By convening regulators and entrepreneurs in one forum, Glovo is betting it can influence how the ecosystem evolves while strengthening its position as a key partner for merchants.

The company, which operates a multi-category platform connecting users to restaurants, grocery stores and retailers, is increasingly pitching itself as a gateway to anything within minutes in urban centres, a model that depends heavily on dense merchant networks and efficient delivery systems.

As Nigeria’s digital economy grows, the success of that model may hinge less on speed and more on how well platforms can integrate thousands of small businesses into a scalable, tech-driven supply chain.