Alerzo initially let go 5% of staff based on performance, with certain positions transitioning to digital systems, including an internal ERP. Subsequently, due to a requirement for increased profitability, a second round of layoffs ensued, impacting 15% of their full-time staff across departments, reducing the employee base to a total of 800.

The company’s rapid growth since inception led to hiring in large numbers, over 3,000 youths were employed within five years of existence, but the current economic climate has had an impact. In response, Alerzo has had to make adjustments to its business model in order to focus on achieving strong unit economics. 

This, according to the company, required the reduction of its workforce despite previous aggressive hiring practices in the past few years, which enabled growth and expansion throughout the country. 

Alerzo believes that the restructuring will enable better service to customers, while it pursues sustainable growth.

To those impacted, the e-commerce platform says it will pay out all contractual notice periods, provide an additional one-month severance, continue HMO coverage — including covered family members — until the end of 2023, and provide job placement and counselling services.

The United Nations Informal Sector Development and the Bank of Industry statistics stated that women constitute a higher number of Nigeria’s informal workforce found in agriculture, food and beverages, retail, textiles and cross-border trade.

World Bank’s Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships, Mari Pangestu, not long ago disclosed that trade has been an engine of poverty reduction over the past 30 years and that trade can expand women’s role in the economy, as well as reduce gender gap if women are given more opportunities.

Globally, technological advancement is lifting many more women out of poverty, helping them climb up the career ladder and assume leadership roles across different spheres through acquisition of flexible career skills as well as achieving a work-life balance.

In Nigeria, for instance, B2B e-commerce platforms are emerging as a strong force for bolstering the growth of the Nigerian informal retail segment.

In response to the rising global advocacy for equal opportunity for women in the tech space, Alerzo, a business-to-business e-commerce platform has been promoting technology as a potent tool for gender parity by building technology products that alleviate the burden of informal retailers, majority of whom are women.

By expanding access to an array of tech solutions, the B2B e-commerce platform and others are enabling women operating in the largely female-dominated Nigeria’s $100 billion informal retail segment side-step limiting barriers that previously inhibited their capacity, growth and sustainability.

The significance of women was further amplified at the recent World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum 2022 in Geneva, Switzerland, with submission that adoption of digital technology for trade was a factor for achieving economic integration and sustainable development on the continent.

The forum in particular harped on the peculiar challenges that African women encounter in relation to harnessing the potential of digital innovations, and advocated increased commitment to advancing the cause of women in the tech space.

For instance, President of Borderless Trade Network (BTN), Dr. Olori Boye-Ajayi, while stating that her organisation collaborates with various agencies to support women and make trading and businesses easier for them by leveraging technology, emphasised the need to create fair opportunities for women in trade, especially in accessing digital tools.

Some of the challenges retail and micro businesses in Nigeria face generally include access to the market to source their wares as they have to travel and transport purchased goods from distant market or wholesale depots.

Many of them move around with huge cash making them susceptible to robbery attacks and other associated dangers of road travel.

Also, lack of access to funds to expand their business, absence of book-keeping and financial advice, inadequate transport and other infrastructure to support business sustainability are part of the challenges they go through.

In addition to high operating costs, small retail businesses also struggle to cope with difficult social and economic terrain.

The many ways Alerzo enables Nigerian retailer include: the Alerzoshop app which allows retailers to conveniently order for goods and make payment via Alerzopay. For retailers who are not tech-savvy, there is an option to order via a USSD code or WhatsApp.

The delivery of the goods is done at no cost to the retailers

By investing in over 400 vehicles and 20 warehouses over the last three years, Alerzo has provided warehousing and fulfilment solutions to suppliers, and delivered ordered goods at zero cost to thousands of retailers in difficult-to-reach locations across Nigeria.

‘‘For the past two years, we have delivered to informal retailers at no cost. With our delivery services, retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise expended in restocking. These benefits have resulted in our retailers reducing their two to four times a week restock trips to zero,” Alerzo Group Chief Executive Officer, Adewale Opaleye, enthused.

“On our Alerzoshop retail app, we have a vast assortment available to our customers to choose from, and we offer free delivery in all the 13 states we’re currently operational. We have changed the landscape for them (retailers) through on-time delivery.’’

In an ecosystem susceptible to adulterated and substandard consumer goods, Alerzo tech solutions also assist both informal retailers and consumers in accessing authentic goods at the right price.

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Some eCommerce startups in Nigeria have tried to make a name for themselves and are judged differently by the population they serve. This is why some customers will prefer them over their counterparts.

Since its inception in 2019, leading business to business eCommerce firm, Alerzo has continued to redefine the face of eCommerce in Nigeria in the informal retail sector especially with the level of trust it has garnered among manufacturers, distributors and informal retailers.

The tech firm founded by Adewale Opaleye keeps allaying the fears of doing business, as it has been able to build its own softwares that help customers to place orders online or through phone calls for goods.

Not stopping at helping its customers to make orders and payments, Alerzo’s self-owned fleet of vehicles make deliveries of the fast moving goods possible within four hours of order, even in hardly accessible areas. 

Alerzo also helps its customers to keep tabs of their profits through the Veedez app even as they earn extra income operating Alerzo’s PoS terminals. 

With the high level of trust and innovative services it provides that address hitches in B2B operations, Alerzo remains endearing in the eCommerce space. 

As Opaleye puts it: ‘‘I founded Alerzo Nigeria to address most of the challenges that face informal retailers in Nigeria. I am happy that, in three years of operations, Alerzo has deployed technology in addressing the challenges of the informal retailers who are on our platform. 

“As a tech-driven B2B eCommerce platform, Alerzo provides warehousing and fulfilment solutions to suppliers while also delivering ordered goods at free cost to retailers. Alerzo has been providing free delivery services to retailers for over two years. More than 400 vehicles and 40 warehouses are owned by individual B2B eCommerce firms in Nigeria through which we serve thousands of retailers on our respective platforms.’’

The annual October 1st celebration has recently been greeted with mixed feelings as many nationals believe there was more that needed to be done for the 62-year-old country, as true independence connotes meaningful development and progress. 

Some also believe that all hope is not lost for a country blessed with exceptional humans that are achieving incredible feats in sports, education, information and communication technology (ICT) and other endeavours.

The boom in the ICT sector over oil dependence gives another dimension  of hope and freedom, as the data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that the sector had contributed 18.44 percent to the country’s gross domestic product in Q2 2022.

Through its in-depth understanding of the system, e-commerce firms like Alerzo are proffering solutions to the challenges in the industry and, in turn, boosting the economy.

Informal retailers on the Alerzo platform testify to the freedom they derive from the e-commerce firm that is leveraging technology to help micro businesses thrive through a wide array of digital products it provides. For instance, the Alerzoshop mobile app allows retailers to order for goods and get them delivered swiftly to their stores without any delivery fees.

The technology Alerzo provides through the Alerzoshop app ultimately saves retailers from the stress of commuting to major markets to buy stock; they also do not fall victim to buying adulterated products and road hazards.

They are exempted from payments at the open markets and motor parks where they board vehicles to convey their stock to their stores, thus further helping them reduce the cost of restocking.

Alerzo Group CEO, Adewale Opaleye, speaking on the freedom the firm is offering to retailers, said: “Alerzo has deployed technology in addressing the challenges of the retailers who are on our platform. With our free delivery services, retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise expended in restocking.’’

A retailer who buys stock from the Alerzo platform said: “Doing business with Alerzo has removed the stress of going to the market to restock. When I come back from the market, I come back with a headache.

“But since I started patronising Alerzo, things are different. Alerzo has a vast assortment of goods. Secondly, Alerzo saves me  money on delivery and transportation aside from the convenience.

“My health has improved because I no longer go through the stress of buying goods in the open market and returning home with a headache. So, I’m enjoying the convenience and it is good for my health and wellbeing,” he explained.

The Alerzopay PoS terminals also make doing business much easier as the retailers can make payment for the goods purchased, conduct cash back transactions, and pay utility bills.

A retailer, Oluwagbemileke Abosede said in her two decades of doing business, her journey with Alerzo has been more rewarding, stating: “I purchase from Alerzo and they deliver free of charge. I was given the Alerzopay PoS machine for payment, some customers won’t buy from you if you don’t have PoS. Since I started using the PoS terminal, my sales have increased.’’

Daily, many youths are provided the opportunities of exploring their talents and being recruited to make up the workforce of the industry which has been described as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy.

Knowing that the population of youths outnumber available jobs, however, many opportunities are being created with the existence of tech firms.

These opportunities are particularly helping in closing the unemployment gap, helping businesses grow and increasing national revenue.

Adewale Opaleye, the Group CEO of Nigeria’s leading B2B e-commerce tech firm, Alerzo, noted that Nigeria has a predominantly youthful population which when optimised is of immeasurable advantage to the economy.

‘‘In 2019, it was estimated that about 65 percent of the population are between 0-24 years old. This is a great asset. Unfortunately, the population of youths is far more than the available jobs.  The good part of this is that most of these youths are digital natives, which means the digital economy can create employment for them,’’ Opaleye said.

Alerzo, he said, has employed over 3,000 youths in its employment and has continued to impact informal retailers and micro businesses through its innovative business solutions.

He stated: ‘‘Aside from Alerzo operations and logistics services that employ thousands directly, we are also enabling the retailers to create more jobs for the Nigerian youths, especially in the rural areas.’’

”We provide financial support through Alerzo lending service for retailers on our platform. We also know that a lot of these entrepreneurs need basic knowledge to run and grow their business. So we engage in capacity building initiatives. Through these, a lot of SMEs in Nigeria have been able to grow their businesses.

‘‘The digital economy holds enormous potential for Nigeria’s development. Investing in it will provide employment, help SMEs to grow, improve government revenue and ultimately drive development,” he added.

The e-commerce platform holds that serving informal retailers especially those  in underserved areas and helping them engage technology will get them better positioned in running profitable businesses.

Group CEO of Alerzo, Adewale Opaleye, stressed that informal employment according to the statistics from the International Labour Organisation (ILO),  accounts for over 80 per cent of total employment in some economies in sub-Saharan Africa, while informal output accounts for more than 50 percent of the region’s overall official Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

He also noted that aside from the informal sector making up 50 per cent of the nation’s GDP, the Nigerian food and grocery retail market had total revenues of $45.7bn in 2020, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.8 per cent between 2016 and 2020.

On the importance of informal retailers to manufacturers, distributors and consumers, Opaleye said prioritising the sector and addressing the challenges therein will boost the Nigerian economy.

The Alerzo boss, who reiterated the tech firm’s mission of leveraging technology to transform Nigeria’s informal retail sector, pointed out the peculiarity of some services Alerzo  provides informal retailers on its platform.“On our Alerzoshop retail app, we have a vast assortment available to our customers to choose from, and we offer free delivery in all the over 13 cities we are currently operational. We change the landscape for them (retailers) through on-time delivery.

‘‘For the past two years, we have delivered to informal retailers at no cost. With our delivery services, retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise expended in restocking. These benefits have resulted in 85 percent of our retailers reducing their two to four times a week restock trips to zero,” stated Opaleye.

Also through its Alerzopay PoS terminals, informal traders are empowered with an extra source of income in addition to the ease of doing business  and profits they get as subscribers on the e-commerce platform. 

An informal retailer in Calabar, Ruth Okon, who said she finds it easy ordering goods from and getting the same delivered by Alerzo, stated: “Alerzo’s presence has helped a lot. They deliver my goods fast to my store. When I order goods for my groceries store, they get the goods delivered without wasting time. I am very happy because I find it convenient to get goods from Alerzo.”

In Kano, 26 years old Shuaib who has been involved in his family business since he was 11 years old said optimising the support from Alerzo, has helped him in accessing products with ease as he plans on opening a second outlet. 

Similarly, Aliyu shared how knowing Alerzo saves him the stress of visiting the open market to restock.

Opaleye noted that there was a need for informal retailers and micro businesses to key into the federal government’s 95 percent digital literacy projection for 2030 as contained in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), 2020 – 2030.

He corroborated the minister who maintained that ICT was not just an independent sector but the key enabler in trade, investment industry and other sectors.

Opaleye further stressed that technology will help informal retailers in running their businesses with ease and make more profits.

Digital literacy is needed to harness the innovative solutions brands like Alerzo and other B2B tech firms are providing to the age-long challenges that informal retailers experience which includes restocking, logistics, bookkeeping, etc.

Alerzo’s unique proposition involves meeting the needs of informal retail businesses at their comfort. These thousands of retailers being serviced by Alerzo are not challenged with running out of stock nor stepping out of their stores to restock as they easily place orders for groceries on Alerzoshop app and receive deliveries within a maximum of four hours, while also receiving and making payments with the Alerzo POS terminal.

Veedez, another product of Alerzo, a bookkeeping and inventory management app, helps retailers to calculate their profits, track their stock and get prompts on goods with low inventory. 

Opaleye further stated: “Informal retailers need to move away from the old ways of doing business to embracing technology. To provide a solution to the problem of logistics, we did something unthinkable by buying a fleet of vehicles and owning our warehouses. We also developed our software, we do deliveries within four hours of order because we own our entire vehicles. We ended up building a bank of solutions for our retailers.”

While harnessing the benefits of digital literacy through the federal government’s vision, there’s no doubt that this will drive an array of innovative Nigerian products that are affordable.

The policy is targeted at tackling some of the negative consequences associated with the usage of physical cash in the economy, including inconveniency and risk of theft and armed robbery.

Business to business transactions are much easier these days as retailers conveniently source fast moving goods from manufacturers and authorised dealers to sell to customers.

Alerzo, for instance, through its Alerzoshop, Alerzopay and PoS terminals provide retailers the means to order goods and make cashless payments. With the PoS machines, retailers can act as agents for customer deposits, withdrawals, utility bill payments, and others.

Through its Alerzopay PoS terminals, the firm said it is supporting the government‘s drive towards a cashless economy, as well as making lives easier for its customers and reducing their cash transactions. 

A retailer described how being on the Alerzo platform has brought her ease while increasing her profit margins.

“Doing business with Alerzo got much easier with the PoS payment. Ever since I have been using Alerzopay, customers find it much easier to use their ATM cards to pay for goods. I used the Alerzopay to make payment for the goods I purchased on Alerzoshop. 

“I have gained more customers in the sense that they do not need to go far to withdraw money. They use Alerzo PoS to make payment for goods. We have been using it to buy data, pay our electricity bill, Pay-tv subscriptions and life has been easy with Alerzo,” she said.

Buttressing this, Founder and Group CEO of Alerzo, a leading B2B e-commerce company, Adewale Opaleye, pointed out that the e-commerce firm, through technology, provides opportunities especially for retailers to maximize profits and grow. 

He said: “We built a financial tool like the POS terminal that accepts digital payment from retailers. 

They (retailers) can accept payment from our device called Alerzopay. On top of that, they can order products they need from Alerzoshop platform.”

However, as more Nigerians embrace digital payment solutions provided by ecommerce platforms, certainly the cord of the cashless economy policy will be strengthened.

Before now many retailers had no option of  making orders for stock online and getting their goods delivered for free at their store steps. But e-commerce platforms like Alerzo, have brought innovations making life easier for retailers and manufacturers likewise.

With its Alerzoshop app retailers can order online or call to make orders from an array of fast moving goods from genuine manufacturers and distributors, eliminating the hazards of adulterated goods, commuting long distances to buy goods from the open markets and others.

Alerzo offers manufacturers and distributors warehouses and logistics that help make goods available in four hours to the retailers in a more cost-efficient and convenient way. This, in turn, increases the retailers’ profit and quick turn over which as well impact on sales recorded by manufacturers and distributors.

A retailer with Alerzo who talked about how the tech firm has impacted on him said, “Doing business with Alerzo has saved me a lot of stress going to the market to restock. When I come back from the market, I come back with a headache.

“But since I started patronising Alerzo things are different. Alerzo has a vast assortment of goods. Secondly, Alerzo saves me the money on delivery and transportation aside from the convenience.

“My health has improved because I no longer go through the stress of buying goods in the open market and returning home with a headache. So I’m enjoying the convenience and it is good for my health and wellbeing.”

In addition, B2B  platforms benefit manufacturers and tier one distributors in data gathering and market intelligence on vital information such as consumer behaviour and preferences.

They analyse data and share market insights with the manufacturers to further help them in research and product development, while distributors also use such information to scale up operational efficiency.

Their ability to improve sales and assist manufacturers, distributors and retailers to plan and ensure predictable outcomes, also underscores the strategic importance of B2B operators. The retail market space is predicted to grow bigger in Nigeria as more start-up tech firms are building synergy in further redefining this sector, birthing more job opportunities and thriving small business owners.

Alerzo is part of those with innovations that are bridging the gap in micro business, as the impacts are being strongly felt even in the rural areas.

Adewale Opaleye, Alerzo Group CEO who is passionate about retailers’ growth, especially with the adoption of technology, said the tech firm provides swift and free delivery of goods ordered by its customers, payment options for retailers for receiving and making cashless payments.

He said Alerzo also helps retailers track store profitability better and facilitate a portfolio of digital services including airtime purchases, bill payments as well as processing peer-to-peer transfers.

Opaleye noted that the testimonials from customers reiterate the firm’s focus “on helping reach more customers seamlessly, we are shifting from a ‘retailers-focused’ business to ‘empowering micro-businesses within and outside of the retail space.’’

He said part of the initiatives in growing retail footprint include: shop now and pay later, savings, loyalty programme, 3P logistics, inventory management and invoicing.

‘‘I am profoundly happy that the work we do at Alerzo Nigeria is greatly impacting the economy of the continent. I founded Alerzo to address most of the challenges that face informal retailers in Nigeria.

‘‘I am happy that, in about three years of operations, Alerzo has deployed technology in addressing the challenges of the informal retailers who are on our platform.

‘‘With our delivery services, retailers save time, energy, and resources that they would have otherwise expended in restocking,” added Opaleye.

A retailer, Oluwagbemileke Abosede said in her two decades of doing business, her journey with Alerzo has been more rewarding.

She shared: “I purchase from Alerzo and they deliver free of charge. I was given the Alerzopay PoS machine for payment, some customers won’t buy from you if you don’t have PoS. Since I started using the PoS terminal my sales have increased.

“People are embracing the cashless policy even when a customer comes in to buy things for N500 or N1000 they ask if I have PoS to make their transactions. They prefer to pay using their ATM cards and I conduct the transactions using Alerzopay PoS terminal. The charges are okay and the transactions reflect immediately.

“Even if a customer attempts to make a deposit using the PoS terminal and it was declined the money would promptly be reversed as the Alerzo pay terminal is working very fine.”

Another retailer, Umar Shuaib aged 26, narrated the impact Alerzo is making on his family’s retail business, as there is plan to expand.

“Alerzo in Kano has helped us immensely because they deliver to our doorsteps  for free any product we order. We thank God Alerzo is here and we are enjoying how Alerzo operates,” he stated.