Stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are, however, concerned over issues that may obstruct the projected growth.

They pointed out that the government needs to pay attention to providing adequate ICT infrastructure, as this will reflect on the socio-economic and technological development of a digital economy.

Michael Olawale-Cole, the President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), at the eighth edition of Information Communication Technology and Telecommunication (ICTEL) Expo made known that the multiplier effects of an effective and efficient digital infrastructure on national development cannot be less emphasised.

The shortfall in infrastructure has created a drive for tech companies like Alerzo, Konga and Jumia to create their own infrastructure from the ground up in order to provide efficient services.

For example, Alerzo has created an end-to-end cocoon within its business-to-business e-commerce platform, where it delivers fast moving goods (FCMG) to retailers in different cities across Nigeria.

Owning over 400 vehicles, goods are delivered to the retailers even in hard to reach locations, free of charge.

The creation of proprietary infrastructure by these tech firms often compliment the government’s efforts.

As such, the provision of digital products such as Alerzoshop, Alerzopay, Veedez and others built partly by local talents help in promoting the growth and profitability of informal retailers and micro businesses.

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

In a previous statement, group CEO of Alerzo, Adewale Opaleye said: “To provide a solution to the problem of logistics, we ended up doing something unthinkable by buying a fleet of vehicles and owning our warehouses. We own over 400 vehicles which we use in delivering fast moving goods (FCMG) to customers. We do deliveries within four hours of order because we own our entire vehicles.

“We geo mapped areas of coverage and helped develop softwares to provide banking solutions to customers. Our Veedez app, for example, was designed to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with easy-to-use bookkeeping and inventory tracking systems.”

Available reports show that the retail market attracts huge patronage in Nigeria as the total revenues from the Nigerian food and grocery retail market in 2020 was $45.7bn, representing a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% between 2016 and 2020.

With technological advancement, many e-commerce B2B platforms’ apps offer micro business owners convenience in doing their businesses as they can order for goods and get the same delivered to their door steps instead of going through the stress of getting their stores locked up for hours while visiting the open market to restock. This, in turn, saves energy, time and money.

For retailers who are aligning with the modifications these B2B platforms provide, the experience is sure to be different and beneficial.

Alerzoshop, for instance, is an app that allows retailers on its platform to buy their products at competitive rates from sellers who display their goods and services on their online platform just the way they could in offline shops.

Retailers can order products via the internet, short messaging service (SMS), voice and WhatsApp and have such products delivered to their stores in a matter of hours.

These retailers, by doing so, also enjoy huge discounts and incentives; they also are able to get genuine goods which come from the manufacturers or approved suppliers directly.

Not only do retailers gain from Alerzoshop, distributors also leverage the opportunity to easily reach a wider spread of retailers by taking advantage of availability of retailers on the platform, the data and digital technology provided.

To boost business, e-commerce platforms also provide seamless online payment and lending platforms which provide informal retailers with working capital to keep their stores running and to drive financial inclusion.

The aspect of providing reliable and free logistical service of ordered goods to retailers, is another area where e-commerce platforms are helping micro business owners increase profit which in turn makes room for healthy business operation.

This sector makes up 50 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), making it the major source of economic growth, productivity, and competitiveness.

However, this market is with its own challenges as it is clustered, with products often overpriced because prices are largely unregulated.

Existent are the challenges of adulterated goods, excessive intermediaries, and the long distances some retailers cover to get to the market, especially those in hard-to-reach locations.

With growing digital technology, B2B e-commerce operators are rising to these challenges by empowering micro businesses to grow and maximise profits.

Through their digital platform, retailers buy consumable goods at manufacturers’ and authorised distributors rates and even those goods are freely delivered.

These automatically save them stress, time and money of having to shop from the open markets.

Micro business owners are guaranteed genuine goods through the services of B2B e-commerce companies like Alerzo for example.

This is even made easier for them as they can use their mobile Apps and websites, e.g. Alerzoshop, which allows retailers to order goods and get the goods delivered directly to them.

Furthermore, they do not have to spend time for business and profit-making on the road to visit the open market for restocking when they get their goods ordered from Alerzoshop.

This has resulted in 85 percent of retailers reducing their two to four times a week restock trips to zero.

The micro business owners have eliminated intermediaries that usually contribute to excessive pricing of goods, as they are sure of buying at the manufacturers’ or legal distributors’ rate when they use Alerzoshop.

Through AlerzoPay, a digital payment and fintech platform for first and third party transactions, retailers no longer have to face the risk of moving around with heavy cash, as it is the case with retailers who shop from open markets.

Also with Alerzo logistics, micro business owners get their goods delivered without making any payments. Meanwhile, in less than four years of its existence, Alerzo, the B2B e-commerce business founded by Adewale Opaleye which focuses on supplying much-needed products to retailers, by sourcing products from manufacturers based on orders from customers has improved the profitability of over 80,000 retail owners.

The firm’s ecosystem of digital product consists of Alerzoshop – mobile App and website that allow retailers to order goods; AlerzoPay – digital payment and fintech platform for first and third party transactions; Alerzo Logistics – end to end logistics service: from first mile to last mile (delivery to retailers).

Largely, there is hope for micro businesses as the e-commerce businesses are passionate about empowering a broad community of micro businesses across the country, with the securing of right investments and partners. They assure continued engagement with governments and regulatory authorities to find the best solutions to challenges in the micro business environments.