Commissions.ng is creating personalised e-commerce platforms for aspiring Nigerian entrepreneurs. With web penetration growing in Africa and millions of Nigerians coming online every year, the start-up is helping people without tech backgrounds to launch their businesses online. We explore the insights behind the project, and why connectivity without support isn’t cutting it in emerging markets.
Commissions.ng is a start-up that enables Nigerian businesses to sell their wares online, without having to worry about creating and managing an online presence. In exchange for an annual subscription fee and a commission from products sold, Commissions.ng handles processes such as web hosting, payment processing, and live-chat customer service. "A number of people have thought about going into e-commerce, but the logistical and operational challenges very quickly kill the business," says co-founder Ehis Asibor. "Other times the resources to operate as an online marketplace are absent or just too expensive."
Nigeria’s population is in the process of a mass migration online – the country had under 52 million internet users in 2013, with that figure projected to reach 93 million by 2019. But in nations where technological access is spiking, people are struggling to make the most of their newfound connectivity. As these sustained struggles poke holes in theories around the digital divide, it’s spawning a more nuanced conversation – this time around ‘digital readiness’. “The focus has [formerly] been mainly on the binary ‘haves versus have-nots,’” writes John Horrigan, a senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute. “However, there has recently been a pivot in the technology adoption discussion that looks at people’s preparedness, such as their digital skills and their trust in technology, which may influence their use of digital tools, separate and apart from their access to them.”
A glance around the globe reveals that digital readiness is still sorely lacking in many emerging markets. In India, 90% of the connected population is restricted to the basics online – even e-mail and e-commerce are beyond the pale for the vast majority of users. As people call for better tools to ease new netizens into the web, companies like Commissions.ng can take the technological drudgery off people’s hands, and help people embrace digital entrepreneurship.
Mira Kopolovic is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8, which specialises in behavioural insights and consumer research. She has a master’s degree that focused on visual culture and artist-brand collaborations, and spends her spare time poring over dystopian literature.
