Olusiji Ijogun, chairman of Konga, Nigeria’s composite e-commerce giants, has revealed that the company is set to invest N2.9bn in its logistics arm, Kxpress to build a world-class delivery solutions company that will resolve the logistics challenges in Nigeria.
He made this assertion when a section of the media caught up with him at a party held at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja on Saturday, September 22nd 2018.
Ijogun, who was congratulated for the quick turnaround of Konga after its acquisition by the Zinox Group in January 2018 which has seen the company trending with new innovations, was also quizzed on how Konga has managed to cope with the problems of delivery which has stunted e-commerce in Nigeria.
Responding, Ijogun who admitted that logistics remains a major challenge for e-commerce, however, noted that the new management of Konga has injected over 43 new vehicles and 100 brand new motorcycles into the system since it took over, noting that that the company has already commenced work to create a lasting solution that will work not only for Konga but other third-party logistics companies in Nigeria.
“We have received approval from the board of Konga to invest about N2.9B in Kxpress to expand the fleet of vehicles available in the pool in order to reach the last-mile faster and more conveniently.
“The plan is to add 200 new vans and 1000 motorcycles to the system nationwide. One aspect of this investment is our intention to work with other credible, hardworking Nigerians as franchises to create jobs for more people while the second part is our determination to guarantee same day delivery anywhere in Nigeria. Customers in Abuja, for instance, may start enjoying same day delivery from first week of October and same will be extended gradually nationwide.
“We must understand, however, that solving this challenge goes beyond increasing the number of vehicles at our disposal. We are also investing heavily in setting up logistics centres nationwide, boosting our technology and human capital,” he disclosed.
While urging customers who have had to bear some inconveniences to keep faith with the Konga brand, Ijogun who assumed the position of Chairman at Konga in April 2018, further noted that the management of the company is working hard behind the scenes to raise standards in the e-commerce industry, noting that the new initiatives will manifest in the first quarter of 2019.
“Nigeria will feel the power of Konga as a clear leader in the Nigerian e-commerce space from the first quarter of 2019.
“Our mission is to build a world class composite e-commerce company that appreciates the needs and aspirations of the people and creates tailor-made solutions to resolve them. We have filtered the system within the first few months since we took over to eliminate fake products and we have achieved about 97 percent of same day delivery of genuine products within our network but the ambition is to reach 100 percent,” he concluded.