Kilimall, one of Kenya’s online shopping malls, has opened subsidiaries in two other countries as part of its regional expansion.
The online retailer, which started operations in Kenya two years ago, launched in Uganda in May this year and recently opened a new office in Nigeria.
Kilimall International regional marketing director Larry Liu says the Ugandan branch is picking already with only a few months into operation. He said Ugandan shoppers have embraced online shopping as internet penetration deepens, boosted by increased use of smartphones.
“Internet use in Uganda has become vast and many people are embracing it for business and shopping unlike in previous years where they used it for Facebook and other social sites,” Liu said.
Since May visits to the Kilimall website in Uganda have grown to 500 orders per day, he said.
The Nigerian subsidiary is expected to be officially launched this month (September) to tap the biggest online market in West Africa and one of the top economies in Africa.
“We realised that there is a high demand of various products by Nigerians and went in to fill that gap,” said Liu.
He added that Nigeria has lots of potential because a majority of people use the internet to buy products and services or find information about products.
“The trend in the numbers of new online shoppers on a daily basis is really high and we are sure that business will be good in that area,” he said.
Kilimall recently celebrated two years of operations in Kenya and has set its target on doubling its business in Kenya in the next one year.
Kilimall’s range of products include smartphones, electronics, fashion and home and living brands.