Nigeria’s largest telecommunications network, MTN has partnered with online retail store, Jumia, to enable customers who purchase mobile phones from the store gain free access to the digital world for six months.
The partnership will boost e-commerce activities in Nigeria by making it easier for customers to purchase items online.
Industry experts have lauded this move saying it will not only boost the country’s economy but also enable more small businesses to contribute to the development of local economies across the West African country.
Riding on the premise that the world has turned to a one big digital village, MTN, General Manager, Consumer Marketing, Kola Oyeyemi said the firm is determined to harness the endless potentials provided by innovative technology and will continue to make this available to its Nigerian customers.
He added that the telecommunications company was determined to bring world class technology and services to the Nigerian market, giving that Nigeria is the largest mobile market in Africa and the 10th largest in the world.
Hennie Heymans, Managing director of DHL Express South Africa last month said “With a population of over 160 million and an already thriving e-commerce market, Nigeria is becoming a game-changer in African e-commerce.”
Nigeria’s e-commerce is expanding rapidly as online sales is expected to double by 2014. E-commerce sales grew 25 percent in 2011 to N62.4 billion ($381 million), up from N49.9 billion ($305 million) in 2010.
Meanwhile, Oyeyemi noted that the telecommunications sector in Nigeria has overtime evolved from concentrating solely on voice and text messages to incorporating data provision.
Accessing the Internet on mobile device is now the norm, he said.
