What is Konga? Konga Review

score

In January 2015, Konga was ranked as the most visited Nigerian website by Alexa Internet.

Notice for Settlement

In terms of business model, Konga adopts a combination of online and offline models. The online part, Konga Online, is a Taobao platform model, with revenue coming from commissions ranging from 3-15% depending on the product category. There is also an offline store, Konga Retail.

In terms of logistics, Konga has built its own logistics KOS Deliveries, which has a fleet of caravans, trucks and motorcycles, with a total of more than 200 vehicles. The company has drop-off centers in various regions of Nigeria, and suppliers can pay to use the warehouses. During the peak season, it may cooperate with third-party logistics, with delivery time of 1-14 days, and as low as 5 days near Lagos (the largest port city in Niger).

In terms of payment, the company supports multiple electronic payment methods and launched Konga Pay, a mobile payment system that cooperates with all banks in Nigeria. Cash on delivery was once cancelled, but was forced to be restored due to a serious impact on order volume.

Entry requirements

1. Do not sell counterfeit products;

2. The seller is responsible for the insurance of the package;

3. Copyrights should be respected and should not be infringed or misappropriated;

4. DVDs with pornographic images may not be sold;

5. Accounts may not be sublet or sold to third parties;

6. No activities involving gambling, lottery or other activities are allowed;

7. Products sold must be certified by relevant organizations.

Financing

In early 2013, Konga raised a $10 million Series A round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers.

In late 2013, Konga closed a $25 million Series B funding round from previous investors Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest investment round ever raised by an African startup at the time.

In late 2014, Konga closed a $40 million Series C funding round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest round ever raised by an African startup.

Development History

Konga was founded in 2012.

In early 2013, Konga raised a $10 million Series A round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers.

In late 2013, Konga closed a $25 million Series B funding round from previous investors Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest investment round ever raised by an African startup at the time.

In late 2014, Konga closed a $40 million Series C funding round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest round ever raised by an African startup.

In January 2015, Konga was ranked as the most visited Nigerian website by Alexa Internet.

In June 2015, Konga launched payment services in partnership with commercial banks.

In April 2018, Konga announced its merger with another e-commerce platform, Yudela.

KongaPay

In June 2015, Konga launched payment services in partnership with commercial banks.

After a consumer initiates a transaction, the bank will send a security verification code to their registered mobile phone, and the consumer can make a one-click payment online through Konga Pay.

The payment option is fully integrated with Ecobank, Access Bank, FCMB, Diamond Bank, Zenith Bank, Heritage Bank, UBA, First Bank, and GTB.

KongaPay’s “Me-Commerce” feature will also allow “any merchant” in Nigeria to generate their own “QR payment code” using a mobile phone picture. Konga said social networks including Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp will support this new payment method in Africa.

Konga Express

To make its online integration very effective, Konga launched Konga Express which focuses on selling its products to reach out to buyers through all available means. Customers can get their ordered products delivered to them within 1-3 days. Konga Express caters to daily online tracking of orders.

Domain Name Disputes

In 2014, the two companies went to court over a domain name dispute because Jumia registered multiple Konga-related domain names outside Nigeria, including konga.cd (Côte d’Ivoire), konga.cm (Cameroon), konga.ly (Libya), etc. Konga’s counterattack was to “buy” the keyword “Jumai” in Google search. The alphabetical order of this word and Jumia is slightly different, so users will jump directly to Konga’s official website as soon as they search for “Jumai”.

References

• 1. Konga’s financing situation in 2013-2014: Techcabal website [reference date 2018-03-22T16:00:00.000Z]
• 2. KongaPay’s “Me-Commerce” feature: Techcrunch [cited on 2018-03-22T16:00:00.000Z]
• 3. Domain name dispute: weikou.com [cited on 2018-03-22T16:00:00.000Z]
• 4. KongaPay: Weikou.com [cited on 2018-03-22T16:00:00.000Z]