Jiji, a privately owned African online marketplace led by Ukrainian tech entrepreneur Anton Volianskyi, has completed the acquisition of Tonaton from its parent company, Saltside, as part of its strategic plans to expand into key market segments in Africa.
Prior to the acquisition, Jiji was a key player in the African tech ecosystem, with a gross merchandise value of more than $10 billion and monthly website traffic of over 2 million people.
Upon the conclusion of the deal, Jiji and Tonaton will have access to a larger network of buyers and sellers, significantly increasing trading opportunity and aggregate user base in a major market consolidation in the classifieds sector.
Jiji’s latest move comes nearly three years after it purchased OLX, a classified ads website with operations in Nigeria. With Tonaton’s market position and penetration in the Ghanaian classifieds sector, Jiji is on track to strengthen its position on the continent as it expands its services and penetration.
Experts believe that its recent acquisition will strengthen its dominance across key African market segments, as it builds on its leadership positions in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya.
“Our goal is to build a company that gives every user in Africa the opportunity to buy goods cheaper and reduce environmental impact through what is effectively a developing lateral economy built on a safe and productive recirculation of valuable goods,” Volianskyi, CEO and co-founder of Jiji, said.
“We are currently creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs across Africa at full tilt,” he added.
Volianskyi founded Jiji in Lagos in 2014. It has since grown into one of the continent’s leading online marketplaces.
Jiji has active operations in Uganda and Tanzania in addition to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. It is well-positioned to capture a larger share of the African market, with approximately 12 million users across all geographies.
It acquired Cars45 last year to position itself to capture a larger share of the African market.
