How Jumia Black Friday has helped SMEs in Nigeria grow

The small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) sector is the backbone of major developed economies and an important contributor to employment, economic, and export growth.

According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, SMEs in Nigeria have contributed about 48 percent of the national GDP in the last five years.

With about 17.4 million, they account for nearly 50 of industrial jobs and about 90 percent of the manufacturing sector in terms of the number of enterprises.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are very heterogeneous groups, but they all want one thing, to drive an influx of sales to their businesses.

Before now, sellers relied on several outlets and shops spread out over the nation to build their businesses and expand their reach. However, the rapid development of technology in Nigeria has significantly impacted and changed the business environment for SMEs over the last decade.

One major factor responsible for the change is the advent of online shopping, which, according to statistics, is done by almost 67 percent of the Nigerian population.

Instead of relying on a fixed location to determine their client base, businesses can now sell their products and services to a wider range of audience.

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To further encourage buys, SMEs occasionally sell their products at discounted prices and this is usually tied to a major event, one of which is Black Friday.

This global phenomenon has lasted for years, making it an exciting customer magnet that offers business incentives. Over the years, customers have used the sales window to purchase products at slashed prices and have become popular among Nigerians thanks to online sales platforms like Jumia.

The yearly commercial event, Black Friday, introduced to Nigeria in 2014 by Jumia, has continued to grow in popularity among customers and has greatly influenced the adoption of e-commerce on a national scale through tremendous sales awareness.

Over the years, sellers have leveraged Jumia’s strong reach and consumer engagement to expand their business and launch new products to the market. Further reiterating its commitment to the growth of SMEs, the e-commerce platform collaborated with over 50,000 active vendors in this year’s Black Friday campaign to help boost their reach to consumers in Nigeria.

“Since signing up with Jumia, we have seen business growth year-on-year. We have been able to reach millions of consumers across the country and record sales in the thousands, especially during Black Friday events, and this year is no different.

“Furthermore, after these shopping events, we continually see a steady increase in sales due to the exposure we have already gotten,” Tunde Olaniyan, CEO of Danami Nigeria, an Indigenous fashion brand, stated.

Jumia’s platform offers sellers a high level of visibility that is essential for most businesses to thrive in today’s market.

As a result, vendors have gained more reach with Jumia, allowing them to expand their businesses, project their products to specific target markets, reduce their marketing costs and increase sales.