Bumbou.com was created two years ago by a young Senegalese based in the North of France. His site, open to global companies interested in the African market or targeting the 54 African Countries.
Martin Diatta told TechMoran he launched the site after graduating with Master 2 degree in Global E-Business at the University of Lille 1 France.
He began the development of bumbou website from his dorm room, but later took an office in a french HUB called « Ruche du Nord » to work and develop bumbou.com with his team.
TechMoran caught up with Martin and below are his plans for Africa and global companies interested in Africa.
What problem do you solve?
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Bumbou.com is Pan-African and gives more visibility to African businesses both in the continent and in the world. I noticed that more and more African are on Internet as individual person but not many companies. According to internetworldstats.com the Internet Penetration in Africa was about 15.6% in 2012 . There are some business directories specific to each country, but Pan-African as bumbou.com there very are few. And most of the existing b2b directories are static website.
Bumbou is really in the era of the Web 2.0. as it gives companies the possibility to manage their own profiles in French, English, Portuguese, Chinese, and soon Spanish.
How does it work?
Bumbou.com platform is a business directory. Companies can register on, create their own page and their presentation form according to their sectors and country. They can post selling or buying products ads. The website presents another new chapter of jobs and internships destinated to Africa for recruiting companies and job or internship seekers. The goal is for every member to create its identity through the platform to be visible both in Africa and globally. In this sense Bumbou.com is also a website for sharing experiences and correspondence between the different companies registered on site.
Take us through your features.
For the directory part, the basic listing is free and open to everyone registered to have access to the information available on the website. Every member can see the detailed records of other members, and contact them by sending email through a form.
However, after the basic listing we offer a Premium Membership for members to be more visible in advertisements and other services offered are the top list in their countries and their activities.
The job part allows any registered member to see available job offers on the website and be able to apply directly from the platform. The candidates can also post their CV online. There is also a section that provides information on economic activity and investment facilities in African countries. Through Bumbou, we post news about fairs and exhibitions taking place on the African continent. We have a particular focus on issues like renewable energy, because it is an industry that can and should be a priority for any business that wants to expand in Africa.
How many merchants using the site so far?
There are currently more than 2,500 companies listed on www.bumbou.com. These companies are both African and global business interested in doing business in Africa.
What is your business model?
The business model is based on the premium account already mentioned that enables businesses subscribers to be more visible and post free ads. The second business model is based on the ads purchase. The third is a banner ad that is directly sold to businesses or organizations that wish to be more visible in Africa.
Any competition in any of the countries you are in?
Yes there are some b2b online directories in some African countries, but the strength of Bumbou.com is its Pan-africanism. If we combine the following set: functionality, simplicity, the numbers of users and languages, we can say that Bumbou.com is in the Top 3 of B2B online directories for Africa.
How unique are you from them?
– www.bumbou.com goes the web 2.0 since the beginning because it allows companies themselves to manage their card, post their ads and make the necessary changes.
– www.bumbou.com ergonomics is simple, clear and functional in 4 languages: French, English, Portuguese and Chinese, and soon Spanish.
– www.bumbou.com gained notoriety on the web these last two years, we are very present in the social professional networks. So, in a few years Bumbou.com will be the reference in Africa in terms of online b2b.
– www.bumbou.com is carried by a hard worker and passionate man, Martin Diatta, who designs and defines the strategy and development of the website with his team. It also communicates a lot to promote this tool in Africa and worldwide.
Any Funding yet? How much? From who?
The first development was funded by Martin Diatta. But Bumbou.com had to move a bank loan and also got some help from French agencies and the Northern France Department. The amount expended during the past two years is about 20,000 euros. We always have a need for funding to develop Bumbou.com and pay future development.
Challenges?
Yes to become the market leader in Africa in two years! We want to be the number one of African online b2b.
Any upcoming developments, like this month, next month or in a few months?
Yes, we have a lot of ideas for future development specifically in the adaptation of payment system at the African members. For example, the possibility to pay on Bumbou.com via their mobile phone.
