Efritin.com, committed to safer online marketplace

In a recent interview, Zakaria Hersi, Managing Director of Efritin.com,  a new online marketplace for used goods sheds light on the business, and its introduction of trust, convenience and credibility to the Nigerian market.

What is Efritin.com?

We are an easy-to-use, free marketplace and app where one can buy and sell almost anything. We commenced operations in Nigeria April this year and launched in August, we believe that we have a unique opportunity to be the leading online classifieds player in Nigeria.

Why the name ‘Efritin’? Have you had a situation where someone tried to correct the spelling?

When our parent company came into the Nigerian market, they already had experience in 3 other markets and from the experience in those countries, they realise that localising is best practice and one of the easiest ways to localise it is by the name we are called.

Pidgin English is more of a Lingua Franca in this part of the world. We thought of what anyone would see and immediately understand; ‘Efritin’. Literally, you can buy or sell ‘Efritin’, everything, that is legal, on our site.

How is Efritin.com different from other existing online classified platforms?

We are different from the other players in this space and one key differentiators is how committed we are to providing a safer online marketplace for our buyers and sellers. When we were carrying out our research on Nigeria, we realized that many people are apprehensive of using online marketplaces because of the fear of being scammed; we therefore, decided to tackle this first by introducing verification of sellers on our platform. We have a dedicated Verification Team that verifies every seller on our site; we have photocopies of their valid government issued identity cards and their photographs. We combat fraud and scams proactively; we have teams in-house that review every advert before they go live. They also investigate and remove items or deals that are fraudulent in nature. So when we say we are committed to providing a safer online marketplace, these are just some examples of how we are trying to make this happen. As we grow and learn, we will continue to add to how we provide a safer marketplace for Nigerians.

Why bring another online classified platform to Nigeria?

At Efritin.com, we are about adding value to the market we serve. If a particular initiative is not going to solve a peculiar problem in the market, then we do not get started with it. We saw market needs that were not met by other existing online classified space in Nigeria and saw how that our coming will benefit this market place; this informed our decision to be in this market.

What is your major focus or is it everything like the name suggests?

Oh yes, we sell everything. But in this short time we have seen that Nigerians are most interested in jobs, vehicles, general goods, particularly electronics and renting properties.

Why the focus on used goods and what’s your definition of used goods?

Used goods are things not from the original seller. Meaning that if I buy a phone that I have not used and I am looking to sell it onwards for whatever reason, it can be termed as used good.

Nigerians already have an existing second-hand culture meaning that when we have bought something and we have replaced or no longer have need for it, and the item still has value, we are used to either giving it away or selling it. We focus on used goods to formalise this tradition and give more people the opportunity to exchange for money goods they do not have need for. We are giving people a platform to trade items safely and securely.For example, if you have a car and probably have just bought a new one, it does not mean you will throw away the one you are replacing. The practice usually is to try to find someone else that has need for it or sell it if it is still valuable and this is where Efritin.com comes in. At Efritin.com, we focus on quality; the buyer is provided with all necessary information about items he wants to buy with clear photos of the item.

You mentioned ‘Jobs’ as one of your major categories. How does it fit in as used goods?

This is Efritin.com and a marketplace for everybody. We are addressing an issue for Nigerians who go online not only because they want to purchase shoes or bags but those looking for opportunities as well. We have approximately 5,000 job vacancies on Efritin and are adding more on a daily basis. Efritin is a great place for Nigerians to look for their next job.

What safety measures do you have in place to protect buyers and sellers?

Actually for the buyers and the sellers, EfritinDelivers also offers them some level of personal protection. They know that if Efritin is the one doing that last leg of their transaction for them, they don’t need to worry about their personal safety or getting scammed. Because Efritin is able to pick up the item from the sellers, deliver it to the buyer and give the money back to the seller the same day, which is convenient and helps to protect both the buyer and the seller.

Efritin.com has been in the Nigerian market for about 6 months now, what are some of the challenges you encountered in the course of setting up and how were you able to solve them?

I wouldn’t say anything unusual. We have the same traffic situation for our team members trying to get into the office; internet is not being the strongest it can be. Trying to build a brand is not easy anywhere in the world.  But it is nothing that we have not been able to handle.

‘Efritin Delivers’ tell me about it. How effective is it? Have you recorded any case of fraud since you commenced operations in Nigeria?

We have individual sellers who have done over one hundred deliveries with us in less than two and a half months we started this particular service. The repeat usage is the most informative feedback we have received and it means that the service we are offering is well received and is adding value to users. Right now, the average number of deliveries recorded per day is impressive for a new classifieds platform. This shows that there was a need and Efritin.com is meeting that need.

What are some of the successes you have enjoyed?

Right now we have verified over 50,000 Verified sellers on our platform. We have over 5,000 jobs listed, over 22,000 electronics, 18,000 cars/vehicles and 12,000 Property, to mention a few. It is a huge success that people are using the site. We receive emails and calls from customers testifying on how they got the job they applied for using our platform or how they sold a number of cars in one week from the advert they placed on our site.

Tell me about the Efritin model? Do users have to pay to access your platform, is there a commission involved?

The basic services that we offer are absolutely free to use. It is free to post your items and sell them, it is free for the buyer to go there and shop. We do not charge access fees or commissions. We will be introducing premium services soon but that will not affect our basic services, as people will always be able to sell something for free on Efritin.com. The easiest way to use Efritin is via the Efritin App, which is available for free in the Appstore or Google Play store.  Buyers and sellers can also access the site from their computer or internet ready mobile devices.

If everything is free, tell me how then do you make money?

We are an online classifieds site and it is a fairly typical business model that has been replicated everywhere across the world in the Americas, Europe, Asia and even in Africa. So there are some basic ways that all classifieds make money- third party advertising and premium services. We have not introduced these yet but we will do in the near future. The truth is we are not worried about making money but to continue adding value to the marketplace we serve. When we do that, the money will come because if you don’t add value, you cannot make money.

Looking back, what would you do differently?

You know operationally, we started 6 months ago but officially, we launched 3 months ago. If there is anything we could have done different, it is that we should have started earlier. The reception we receive has been really great. It means that there has always been a need which we are currently meeting.

We have seen businesses come and go in Nigeria. Tell me, how long do you intend to stay in Nigeria?

We don’t plan to leave Nigeria. Nigeria is a great market. Our parent company, Saltside, has been in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ghana for over 3 years. It received great growth potential in Nigeria for various reasons- the population numbers, the GDP numbers- if you even consider the overall economic conditions of the world, Nigeria has always been an attractive market. So I don’t anticipate that we will be leaving anytime soon

So what should we expect from Efritin.com in the coming years?

Lots more. More categories, more items, more services. We are always open to suggestions so, if you have helpful suggestions, feel free to reach our team. We are receptive, young and agile and it doesn’t take us long to start implementing things.