Social e-commerce network YuuZoo and Etisalat Nigeria have launched a new e-commerce platform dubbed SME Arena for SMEs and individuals in Nigeria to market and sell their products and services to other Etisalat’s 24 million subscribers and other mobile phone users in Nigeria.
Speaking of YuuZoo’s exciting new venture with Etisalat, YuuZoo CEO, James Sundram said, “YuuZoo is excited to be the first Singapore-based company to in a significant way engage in the booming Nigerian e-commerce market. We are deeply honored that Etisalat, one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, has chosen us to be their trusted technology and solution partner for their new massive social e-commerce launch. Working with Etisalat gives us first-hand access to their huge database of 24 million subscribers. Instead of starting from scratch in a new faraway market, we can concentrate our efforts on building exciting new solutions which Etisalat, through their massive reach, will market to Nigerian consumers.
The Singapore-based YuuZoo Corporation is one of the world’s first third-generation social e-Commerce companies. The new social e-Commerce platform for the SME sector, “SME Arena” will enable YuuZoo to start generating recurring cash revenue from e-commerce, advertising, game revenue and payments in Nigeria. YuuZoo expects this revenue to be significant in view of the strong marketing planned by Etisalat.
The timing for the launch is perfect, with the Nigerian market for e-commerce and social networking growing very rapidly. As of 2015, there are 82.19 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in Nigeria . The total number of mobile cellular subscriptions in Nigeria numbers an impressive 150.83 million . Nigeria also has the highest mobile internet traffic against total web traffic ratio in the world, at 82% of the total web traffic as of the 1st quarter of 2016. Against this backdrop, YuuZoo and Etisalat are poised to transform the digital landscape in Nigeria by opening up the doors of social e-commerce to a huge emerging market hungry for new products and servieces.
SME Arena (www.smearena.com.ng) is built and managed by YuuZoo and will from today be heavily marketed in Nigeria by Etisalat. SME Arena is the first portal in Africa to combine social networking, e-commerce, an online business directory and entertainment, forming and offering consumers an exciting and new user experience.
According to Matthew Willsher, CEO of Etisalat Nigeria,“At Etisalat Nigeria, we pride ourselves as the most SME-friendly telecommunications company in Nigeria. Our commitment to the development and growth of small and growing businesses in Nigeria led us to create several platforms that enable budding entrepreneurs to strive. The market place is an Arena of sorts, and in today’s world, trade goes on at a fast pace. This is why we strongly believe that platforms such as the SME Arena is important in the improvement and growth of small and growing businesses,” he said.
SME Arena helps small & medium-sized businesses in Nigeria drive networking, profitability and brand awareness through:
1. Community: Get Social with one’s business. Under the Community feature, vendors have access to targeted social networks and both vendors and users are empowered via direct interaction with each other. Users can interact and socialise with people who share common interests. Through common interest networks, SMEs are able to build their business by sharing industry intelligence.
2. Marketplace: SME merchants can choose to open a store and sell their products on the online marketplace. The marketplace also supports merchants by offering delivery of the products for the merchants.
3. Directory:The Directory allows business to be listed on SME Arena for free. This feature helps SMEs expand their client base and gain increased awareness for their businesses.
