AfCFTA to accelerate Africa‘s growth, drive collaborations among e-commerce firms – Alerzo CEO

Adewale Opaleye, the founder and group chief executive officer of Alerzo has stated that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will forge collaborations among e-commerce platforms on the continent and accelerate the continent‘s economic growth.

Speaking during a panel discussion titled ‘Fintech’s Role in eCommerce, Trade & Commodities under AfCFTA’ at the just concluded Africa Fintech Summit held in Cape Town, South Africa, Opaleye stated that for AfCFTA to work, certain structural trade barriers must be reviewed.

“The trade pact is indeed good for Nigeria‘s economy and that of Africa. For it to work, certain structural trade barriers must be reviewed. We have to review the cross-border tariffs so that the exportation of commodities from one African country to another becomes seamless and more attractive.

“The right trade agreements and right tariffs – both cross border tariffs and taxational cross borders – will effortlessly forge collaborations among e-commerce players in Africa,” Opaleye stated.

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Explaining how Alerzo is leading the charge among its peers by facilitating easy trade for micro businesses in Nigeria, majority of whom are informal retailers, Opaleye said, “We‘re Nigeria‘s leading business-to-business e-commerce platform serving micro businesses and informal retailers in Nigeria‘s retail sector by using technology to solve most of the perennial problems associated with informal retail in Nigeria”.

He stated that the B2B Company provide a digital platform for informal retailers to order goods and get them delivered for free between 3 – 4 hours in some cities, and within 24 hours in others.

“I founded Alerzo Nigeria to address most of the challenges that face informal retailers in Nigeria. I am happy that, in three years of operations, Alerzo has deployed technology in addressing the challenges of the informal retailers who are on our platform,” he stated.

Opaleye disclosed further that as a tech-driven B2B e-commerce platform, Alerzo provides warehousing and fulfilment solutions to suppliers while also delivering ordered goods at free cost to retailers.