Blow to e-commerce as OLX shuts its Kenya office
SCI & TECH
By Dominic Omondi | February 7th 2018
NAIROBI, KENYA: Over 30 employees will soon be out of work after online classified OLX confirmed it was shutting its Kenya office.
The e-commerce company will also close its Nigeria office, in what is a dent to the growth of e-commerce in Africa.
“We made a difficult but important decision in Kenya and Nigeria to consolidate our operations between some of our offices internationally,” said OLX Country Manager Peter Ndiang'ui.
Sources indicate that employees will begin receiving termination letters in March.
However, OLX says that the selling and buying of goods on its online platform will not be affected by the restructuring. “Our marketplace will continue to operate in Kenya and Nigeria - uninterrupted - as it has since 2010,” explained Ndiangui.
KEEP READING
New data laws signal higher marketing costs for firms
Buying diamonds in lockdown? WhatsApp can be your best friend
E-commerce will unlock Postal Corporation of Kenya’s fortunes
All of OLX’s operations in the continent will now be coordinated from South Africa office, as the company seeks to minimise losses. Olx has struggled to spread its footprint in the two African markets.
In Kenya, besides the fact that e-commerce penetration has remained low with Kenyans still uptight about buying things online, cut-throat competition has also eaten into the small size of online shoppers.
Kenya has since played host to a number of e-commerce companies including Jumia, Kilimall and Safaricom’s Masoko which is the latest entrant.
OLX became popular among Kenyans as a free marketplace that enabled uninhibited buying and selling of anything, from an old black-and-white TV to the latest iPhone.
Abuse of this platform which at times turned into a thriving ground for fraudsters, saw the emergence of regulated marketplaces such as Jumia and Kilimall.
“We remain committed to the millions of Kenyans who use our platform to buy and sell every month. We continue to be focused on constantly innovating to make sure that OLX remains the top classifieds platform Kenya,” the statement by OLX went on.
RELATED VIDEOS
E-Commerce Trends: Retail firms predict further surge as more Kenyans embrace E-Shopping
Jumia shuts down Tanzania unit, business says move was necessary
To fight drought, involve communities
According to the latest information from the Meteorological Department, rainfall will be poorly distributed in April, May and June, and this will have a serious impact on agricultureI eagerly await my baby's first steps
Spina Bifida, and though rare in the general population, it is the most common neural tube defect in the worldMOST READ

- School records over 90 pupils with 400 marks and above
WESTERN
- Nightmare for road users as Expressway takes shape
BUSINESS
- Video: Humility was my secret, top girl in 2020 KCPE wants to be neurosurgeon
KENYA
- Lawrence Warunge denies killing parents, siblings, farmhand
CENTRAL
By Brian Okoth
- Mother, daughter arrested after weapons found in Racecourse, Nairobi
NAIROBI
By Betty Njeru