MallforAfrica shuts down operations in Nigeria
Nigerian e-commerce platform, MallforAfrica has announced the shut down of its operations.
The MallforAfrica app is no longer on the Google Playstore and Apple Store. A closure notice written on its website read this:
“Dear Amazing Customers,
At this time MallforAfrica is no longer taking any orders. We appreciate your patronage over the years and truly adore each and every one of you. Orders made prior to our closure have been processed or are being refunded. If you have funds on your MfA account, they will be refunded. Please be patient with us as we finalize refunds during the month of November. Our customer service team is working hard to ensure all refunds are completed fast. Thank you all so much for your support.
We adore you all.
Sincerely,
MallforAfrica.”
Founded in 2011 by two brothers, Chris and Tope Folayan, MallforAfrica was initially created to provide a platform for Nigerians to buy goods online locally and internationally.
Subsequently, the company established an online platform for African retailers to promote their goods to a global audience digitally.
MallforAfrica scaled operations through partnerships with companies like eBay, making it possible for customers to buy African goods on eBay’s Mall for Africa Store from any part of the world, with DHL to launch an e-commerce site, MarketPlaceAfrica.com, which provided a platform for select African artisans to sell wares to buyers in any of DHL’s 220 delivery countries.
In 2018, the MallforAfrica online platform was available to customers in over 17 African countries.
The company’s closure has affected the fate of DHL Africa eShop, which was a partnership between MallforAfrica and DHL, with MallforAfrica providing the backbone of the platform.
Created in 2019, the DHL Africa eShop was designed to enable customers to shop directly from more than 200 US- and UK-based online retailers, with all shipments delivered by DHL Express, to the shopper’s door. As of September 2019, the DHL Africa eShop service was available in 34 countries.
The DHL Africa eShop shut down the eShop site effective October 30, 2021.
