QShop is a Nigerian online platform that provides “businesses [with] a quick and easy way to build e-commerce websites,” according to How we made it in Africa. The QShop platform specifically targets markets in Nigeria and Africa, focusing on small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs). QShop helps Nigerian SMEs to transition to e-commerce so that businesses can expand their markets and see increased growth.

Poverty in Nigeria and the Role of SMEs

A new World Bank report, “A Better Future for All Nigerians: Nigeria Poverty Assessment 2022,” reveals that four out of 10 people in Nigeria live below the national poverty line. In the last quarter of 2020, the unemployment rate in Nigeria stood at 33%.

However, a 2010 report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) says Nigeria’s SME sector has the potential to “absorb up to 80[%] of jobs, improve per capita income, increase value addition to raw materials supply, improve export earnings, enhance capacity utilization in key industries and unlock economic expansion and GDP growth.”

The Nigerian SME sector plays a crucial role in attenuating poverty. PricewaterhouseCoopers says SMEs are “the backbone of major developed economies.” In the five years preceding 2010, SMEs in Nigeria contributed 48% to the country’s GDP. Furthermore, SMEs accounted for 96% of businesses in Nigeria and 84% of employment. The QShop platform aims to support SMEs in Nigeria, encouraging even further growth.

How QShop Helps Nigerian SMEs

E-commerce has become more popular in recent years and a variety of e-commerce website builders are available for companies of all sizes, including Shopify, Square and Ecwid. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, business closures and restrictions on operations pushed business owners to look for online solutions, leading to a higher demand for e-commerce-as-a-service solutions.

Tarebi Alebiosu, the founder of QShop, told Vanguard that amid the pandemic, technology played a vital role in the survival of small businesses. She established QShop with the specific intent of helping SMEs run their businesses online.

Head of technology at QShop, Harrison Hammond, said to Vanguard: “At QShop, we want to help customers grow from zero to a hundred with technology. We serve as the middle-man to bring all the tools — websites, inventory, payment channels and logistics — to one place.”

QShop helps Nigerian SMEs by being more affordable than many other e-commerce sites and pricing its paid subscriptions in nairas and not dollars. “Right now, nobody wants to incur costs linked to the dollar as our currency is experiencing serious devaluation,” Alebiosu said to How we made it in Africa.

QShop offers business owners a free and paid subscription. Businesses can opt for the free subscription where the company “takes 4% off every transaction, but there is no monthly fee.” About 5% of QShop clients are utilizing the paid subscription, as of November 2022, while the others utilize the free subscription. “We make money only if our clients are selling,” says Alebiosu to How we made it in Africa. The free tier ensures that businesses do not lose money if they initially struggle to sell.

The Future