We have repeatedly covered Rocket Internet’s operations in SA as they aggressively go after ecommerce market share. We have now learned that they have also started targeting another one of Africa’s biggest economies, Nigeria.
TechLoy has reported that Internet giant Rocket Internet has confirmed that it will be launching an Amazon clone in Nigeria this month. The company has already launched an Amazon-clone called Lazada in Indonesia, Egypt, the Philippines and Thailand recently.
Rocket Internet has a track record for cloning existing popular web companies across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America including Airbnb and Zappos. In February, Rocket Internet launched Zando in South Africa, selling popular clothing brands in the local market. While the name of the new clone-site still remains uknown, it will sell items similarly found on Amazon including DVDs, books, electronics and games.
As part of its preparations for the Nigerian launch, Rocket Internet are reportedly recruiting local staff for its operations based in Lagos and are likely to take on some of the former employees of Kalahari Nigeria that was shut down last October by parent company MIH Internet Africa.
