Online grocery store Mart.ng launched in Nigeria

Mart.ng began life offline in November of last year, taking orders via phone and WhatsApp as it moved from house to house marketing its services. Due to demand, however, it decided to launch an online store this year, which went live earlier this month.

“The company believes in high quality and exceptional customer service, and most importantly, we believe shopping is a right, not a luxury, so we strive to deliver the best products at the most affordable prices, and ship them to the customers regardless of the time of the day,” co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Frank Umeadi told Disrupt Africa.

“We offer consumers the best prices they can’t get anywhere else because we source directly from the producers most times. On supermarket goods, we collaborate with most offline supermarkets and restaurants, enlisting their products on our platform.”

The startup employs shoppers, who upon receiving an order visit the local supermarket to shop for the requested goods and deliver them straight to the customer’s doorstep. Mart.ng also has an in-house despatch rider.

Mart.ng is currently self-funded by the founders, plus some initial support from family and friends.

“The idea is to build a business that gradually caters for its operations and expansions without depending solely on external funds, even though it will help skyrocket the business in no time,” Umeadi said.

“We have plans to expand to Lagos, and also set up our own offline supermarkets in the near future, but we want to stay focused and solidify our presence in Abuja before expanding.”

Read the original article on Disrupt Africa.