Nigerian logistics startup Kwik has partnered leading B2B e-commerce platform Alibaba to support Nigerian exporters.
Disrupt Africa reported in July 2019 on the launch of Kwik – a digital platform connecting delivery partners and corporate customers in large African cities and offering digital solutions for e-commerce payment and fulfilment – after the startup raised seed funding, and it saw speedy uptake.
The startup raised a US$2 million Series A funding round in March 2022, and then launched KwikStore, a free e-commerce storefront solution that allows any African business owner, merchant, social vendor entrepreneurs and SMEs to create their own online stores, and KwikShelf, its first on-demand e-commerce fulfillment centre in Lagos.
Founded in 1999, Alibaba is a leading platform for global wholesale trade that serves millions of buyers and suppliers around the world, offering a wide array of products. The partnership sees Kwik become the first-ever Alibaba Authorised Channel Partner in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will offer Nigerian manufacturers and exporters access to over 48 million global buyers around the world.
“This partnership with Alibaba.com sends a very strong signal to Nigerian businesses: accessing the world’s markets is a few clicks away. Competing globally creates jobs and will play a key role in lifting the Nigerian economy,” said Kwik founder and CEO Romain Poirot-Lellig. “There is a strong complementarity between our portfolio of customers and Alibaba.com’s platform.”
The two companies are also introducing a series of special rates for Nigerian manufacturers and exporters to acquire membership on the Alibaba.com platform as well as associated features and benefits.
“We are excited to partner with Kwik by offering great opportunities to Nigerian exporters to access millions of buyers around the world,” said Alibaba head of global potential countries Foncel Lan.
