Onyekachi Izukanne on technology adoption
From Technology as a tool to aid Nigeria’s Commerce - CEO, Trade Depot · · AriseNews
“If you're trying to use tech you can't just stick an app or a website in front of these retailers and expect them to suddenly start working with you — some will use an app, some will call a toll‑free line, some want to be visited; you need to take all that on board.”
On , Onyekachi Izukanne, CEO & Co-Founder at TradeDepot, spoke about technology adoption during Technology as a tool to aid Nigeria’s Commerce - CEO, Trade Depot on AriseNews.
About Onyekachi Izukanne
Onyekachi Izukanne, CEO and co-founder of TradeDepot, has described the Nigerian retail market as largely offline, with modern stores accounting for only two to three percent of sales. He stated that the company’s goal is to use technology to reduce supply-chain inefficiencies for informal retailers, who he said represent the majority of the market. Izukanne noted that TradeDepot provides a mobile B2B platform that allows retailers to order goods via an app, WhatsApp, toll-free lines, or USSD, and that the company also offers working capital financing based on transaction histories, reporting a 97% repayment rate in pilots. Izukanne said TradeDepot began operations in August 2015, initially focusing on milk distribution with a large dairy distributor. He added that the company has since worked with organizations such as PSI and is building relationships with consumer goods companies including Coca-Cola. He described the company’s vision as becoming the default B2B supply platform for retailers in the consumer goods space, with a focus on creating APIs to enable direct manufacturer-to-retailer supply.