L-R: PR Strategist, Ogunfowoke, Adeniyi Ayuba, Head of Wabi2b, Chimezie Ugwuzie, Wabi2b Wholesaler, Bayo Adepoju and Country Manager, Wabi Nigeria, Omolara Adagunodo |
The launch was held at the Nigeria Bottling Company, Mushin,
Lagos.
Wabi2b, the B2B arm of the business, is a marketplace that
allows all wholesalers and distributors in the FMCG space to sell their
products directly to retailers and traditional stores.
A McKinsey report titled “Africa’s growing giant: Nigeria’s
new retail economy,” estimates that, from 2008 to 2020, there was a $40 billion
growth opportunity in food and consumer goods in Nigeria.
According to the International Labour Organization, at least
142 million people work in the retail sector in developing countries. Retail
employment accounts for an average of 10 to 15 per cent of the job market in
any given country.
Considering that the retail industry is vital to Nigeria’s
economy, the opportunities would be doubled down by bringing the traditional
stores online.
Country manager, Wabi Nigeria, Omolara Adagunodo, said:
“Wabi2b is a brainchild of the Coca-Cola Company but the benefits are not
limited to Coca-Cola. We aim to digitise route-to-market for all FMCG
companies. Most importantly, we want to help our retail partners, including the
small shops on the streets who are selling FMCG products.
“These are the people we are most focused on because they
are the ones that need help in being digitised first. When we think back to the
COVID era, people were too scared to go visit stores to shop. As such, it was
convenient for them to shop online. This puts small grocery shops at a great
disadvantage. They were not online and because of this they lost to businesses
who had the capability to be online and sell/buy products.
“Wabi2b, an ecosystem designed for such a time as this, will
ensure that all retailers, no matter how small, have access to transact online.
We are doing this to empower millions of families and women
across Nigeria; 95% of our retail partners are women. These are the people who
need to buy and sell on a daily basis. These are the people we work tirelessly
to make their purchasing process seamless so that they can increase their
revenue and become competitive in a digital era. We operate in Lagos with plans
to expand to other states next year. You can download our app on Google Play
Store.”
Head of Wabi2b, Chimezie Ugwuzie, said: “Wabi2b is a digital
platform where wholesalers can sell directly to retailers. We have over 10,000
retailers on the platform.”