The Founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Alerzo, Adewale Opaleye, has said certain structural trade barriers within the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCTA) must be reviewed in order to work as the platform seeks to boost collaboration among e-commerce platforms on the continent and accelerate the continent‘s economic growth.
Opaleye disclosed this at Africa Fintech Summit that held in Cape Town, South Africa while speaking during a panel discussion titled ‘Fintech’s role in e-commerce, trade, & commodities’.
He said, “The trade pact is indeed good for Nigeria‘s economy and that of Africa. For it to work, certain structural trade barriers must be reviewed. We have to review the cross border tariffs so that exportation of commodities from one African country to another becomes seamless and more attractive. The right trade agreements and right tariffs – both cross border tariffs and taxational cross borders – will effortlessly forge collaborations among e-commerce players in Africa.”
He explained that Alerzo is leading the charge among its peers by facilitating easy trade for micro businesses in Nigeria, majority of whom are informal retailers.
Opaleye said, “We‘re Nigeria‘s leading business-to-business e-commerce platform serving micro businesses and informal retailers in Nigeria‘s retail sector by using technology to solve most of the perennial problems associated with informal retail in Nigeria.
“We provide a digital platform for informal retailers to order goods and get them delivered for free between three to four hours in some cities, and within 24 hours in others.
“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.”
