When Present Nosa began promoting hair from her residence in Lagos, she had no store, no web site, and barely any cash for advertising.
“I uploaded footage of human hair on my WhatsApp standing, and that’s how I bought my prospects,” she recalled. “I despatched broadcast messages to my contacts, and other people started sending me direct messages.” At present, her enterprise has grown past simply WhatsApp, however it continues to play a vital function.
For Religion Idebuemi, who runs an internet retailer promoting jewelry and clothes, WhatsApp is her storefront. “I began in the course of the top of the Chinese language import wave. I ran pre-sale campaigns to lift capital,” she stated.
Ebose Ailenotor started her e book enterprise on WhatsApp. At present, she has an internet site and is organising a bodily store. But, she continues to publish books on WhatsApp. “Quite a lot of my prospects are repeat consumers who first discovered me there,” she stated.
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For a lot of small companies in Nigeria, WhatsApp isn’t only a messaging app; it’s a lifeline. It permits them to function lean, save on setup prices, and attain prospects straight, all with out the burden of managing a full e-commerce website. With over 39 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) within the nation, many have discovered methods to show the app right into a low-cost, high-impact gross sales platform.
By utilizing the standing function and broadcast instruments, companies are repurposing WhatsApp into an off-the-cuff e-commerce channel, way more accessible than platforms like Jumia or Konga, which require extra complicated onboarding and fulfilment processes.
There are over 51 million WhatsApp customers in Nigeria, equating to about one in 4 lively cellular strains participating on the platform, based on Bosun Tijani, minister of communications, innovation and digital economic system.
The app is extensively used as a result of it really works effectively on low-end telephones, consumes little knowledge, and capabilities even on gradual networks, making it accessible throughout each city and rural areas.
For micro and small enterprise homeowners, this simplicity is vital: no web sites, no overheads, no middlemen. Buyer conversations, inquiries, orders, and funds all occur on one system.
At present, 67% of on-line purchases in Nigeria reportedly start with a chat, in comparison with a world common of twenty-two%.
WhatsApp has moved far past messaging because it now epitomises what number of companies showcase merchandise, affirm funds, and organise supply logistics.
“Casual on-line commerce, for instance, utilizing WhatsApp or Instagram to achieve consumers by way of social networks, can be extensively utilized by microenterprises for advertising, receiving orders, and decreasing transaction prices,” the World Financial institution stated.
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WhatsApp Enterprise, launched in 2018 and tailor-made for small companies, added options that make buyer engagement extra skilled. With a enterprise profile, catalogues, automated replies, and working hours, enterprise homeowners can handle gross sales without having for a standard web site.
Temitope Bukola, founding father of Giftbysisi, a gifting firm, began utilizing the WhatsApp Enterprise app after it launched in 2018. With the app, she has grown her enterprise right into a full-blown gifting firm.
“Utilizing catalogue, fast replies, carts, and broadcast, I might monitor buyer interactions and construct belief.
“WhatsApp Enterprise is my store,” Nosa added. “Folks not often ask for a bodily retailer as soon as they see my WhatsApp catalogue. All the things is there, merchandise, costs, footage”, she stated.
Peter Adebiyi, a vogue entrepreneur, famous how automated replies assist him handle first-time inquiries even earlier than chatting. “It offers construction. First-time prospects get to know the fundamentals with out ready for me to reply,” he stated.
WhatsApp Enterprise generated an estimated $39.5 million in income from Africa in 2023, underscoring its reputation with small companies.
Small companies account for about 90 % of all companies and 50 % of jobs in lots of economies, serving to them scale issues. With e-commerce, many MSMEs can compete and develop, resulting in improved incomes and employment, based on the World Financial institution.
Whereas it’s already embedded within the strategy of many small companies, WhatsApp is predicted to proceed to play an enormous function, particularly with latest updates. Meta, the dad or mum firm of WhatsApp, is including advertisements to the standing function, letting customers discover new companies extra simply.
Learn additionally: The WhatsApp economy: How social commerce is rewriting retail rules
Nonetheless, whereas the app continues to serve Nigerian MSMEs, fraud stays a threat. Scammers regularly exploit its simplicity to impersonate companies or defraud prospects; an issue Meta is making an attempt to repair.
In 2024, Meta rolled out Meta Verified in India, providing small companies a verified badge, impersonation safety, buyer help, and premium instruments. Verified companies additionally get visibility throughout WhatsApp Channels and Enterprise pages. This function is but to launch in Nigeria.
Nonetheless, the Nigerian authorities believes WhatsApp can provide extra. “I see an enormous alternative for WhatsApp to contribute to financial actions in Nigeria by way of their fee API,” Tijani added.
