Global online Marketplace OLX has apparently shut down its operations in Nigeria and Kenya, today, Tuesday, February 6, 2018.
According to multiple sources who all spoke to Pulse in anonymity, both Nigerian and Kenyan management made a formal announcement to staff members this morning about closing down operations.
A notice of redundancy will be issued from tomorrow. In Kenya, a notice of termination will follow at the beginning of March and other management teams to continue till April 2018.
Staff members were shocked to receive the news as it has been business as usual up till this morning.
‘The HR and management announced to their staff this morning. They were all shocked’, a source who spoke to two staff members tells Pulse.
Insiders tell Pulse that the OLX Nigeria has not recruited any new staff in the past few months.
Another source says the Country Manager in Nigeria and SSA Prouduct, Lola Masha, has not been coming to work regularly.
OLX Nigeria has yet to respond to Pulse’s messages to comment on the developing story.
All business operations will be moved to South Africa.
It will be interesting to see what next steps OLX takes in Africa. Will the business in the market run remotely?
History of OLX Nigeria
OLX Nigeria was founded on May 9, 2012, and went on to become what one of the leading online classified sites in Nigeria.
In 2017, the company claimed the site recorded N12.1 trillion online transactions in 2016. “The report not only shows the enormous value of the second-hand market but also demonstrates the positive impact online classifieds has on the Nigerian economy. This is a concrete demonstration of the OLX brand essence ‘Everybody wins’, as sellers win when they sell items they no longer need at lower prices, and buyers also win when they buy items at great discounts and the community wins as the trade leads to increased circulation of cash in the local economy” Masha told This Day about the report.
OLX’s parent company is owned by parent company, Naspers, the broad-based multinational internet and media group.
In 2016, an online classified site ‘Efritin’ shut down its offices in Nigeria after just 16 months of operation.
On Saturday, February 3, 2018, Naspers & Kinnevik sold its stake in Konga to Zinox Group in a landmark deal.