Kaymu
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Type of site | E-commerce |
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Available in | English, French, Portuguese |
Founded | 2013 |
Area served | Africa, Asia, Europe |
Industry | Internet |
Parent | Rocket Internet, Africa Internet Group, Asia Pacific Internet Group |
URL | www |
Launched | 2013 |
Kaymu is an online marketplace founded in 2013, providing localized C2C and B2C products in Africa,[1] Europe and Asia.[2] The platform lets buyers and sellers meet to make deals on new and used fashion items, mobile phones, jewelry, and home appliances.
History[]
Kaymu initially launched in Nigeria and Pakistan in January 2013 and within 27 months opened operations in 32 other countries.[3] Kaymu copies eBay's model; it does not offer first-party product sales, and it has separate retail websites for each of the countries it operates in. Kaymu's closest competitor is Naspers-owned OLX who have operations in over 100 countries and run a C2C model.[4]
In January 2013, Kaymu received an undisclosed amount in seed funding from Rocket Internet and began operations in Nigeria and Pakistan.[5] Kaymu grew from an employee base of 10 to 60 in nine months and opened operations in Ghana and Morocco in October 2013,[6][7] before expanding to other emerging economies in its second year of operation.[8]
As at June 2015, Kaymu's operations have grown to include Mozambique, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar,[9] Slovenia, Sri Lanka,[10] Bulgaria,[11] Uzbekistan, and Philippines. Kaymu operates in 35 countries, 17 of which are in Africa,[12] and the rest in Europe and Asia.[13]
Kaymu currently has operations in the following regions & countries:[14]
- Africa: Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda & Zambia
- Asia and Middle East: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia & Uzbekistan
- Europe: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Croatia, Georgia, Slovakia & Slovenia
In 2016, Kaymu turned into Jumia in Africa.[15]
Investors[]
Kaymu is backed by Rajib Kumar mehta, under the umbrella of the Jumia Group conglomerate.[16] Rocket Internet CEO Oliver Samwer has described his company as a platform that builds internet companies[17] rather than as investors, innovators or startup incubators as they are perceived by others.[18] Rocket Internet oversees all of its business affairs in Africa through Africa Internet Group which has shared ownership among Rocket Internet, MTN and Millicom.[19][20]
Controversy[]
Kaymu, like other startups that belong to the list of companies backed by Rocket Internet, has been criticized for its copy-and-paste model. Rocket Internet takes business models that have succeeded in Europe and the U.S. and clones them in emerging economies.[21][22] Kaymu is one of such models, and has been described to copy the eBay model.
Awards[]
- Online Retail Award (London, 2014)[23]
References[]
- ^ "Ivory Coast stallholders turn to digital marketplace". BBC. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Rocket Internet Partners With Qatar's Ooredoo In New Fund For Asian E-Commerce Startups". Techcrunch. Apr 23, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Kaymu Nigeria launches new schemes to improve quality and performance". Ventureburn. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "OLX Announces Expansion in Eleven International Markets". BusinessWire. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Rocket Internet At It Again, Launches eBay Clones In Nigeria & Pakistan". Techmoran. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Nigerian online marketplace Kaymu expands to Morocco and Ghana". Ventureburn. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "E-Commerce Platform Kaymu Expand its Operations to Morocco". Morocco World News. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Kaymu Nigeria celebrates 2nd Anniversary, to get more Merchants on board". Tech360NG. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Rocket Internet launches general classifieds platform in 8 countries". Aim Group. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Kaymu.lk In Sri Lanka With Android App Launch". The Sunday Leader. 9 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Kaymu: An African Success On Mission To Change Ecommerce In Bulgaria". Startups.bg. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "E-commerce becomes a force in African retail market". PC World. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ "Tamim extends Kaymu deal". The Daily Star. No. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
- ^ http://www.kaymu.com/
- ^ "Hellofood, Lamudi, Carmudi, Jovago, Everjobs, Vendito & Kaymu OUT - Jumia becomes ONE-STOP-SHOP". 17 June 2016.
- ^ "Rocket Internet Companies". Rocket Internet. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Rajib mehta says Rocket Internet isn't an incubator and offers more 'freedom' than Google". The Next Web. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Lift Off: German Startup Incubator Rocket Internet Launches IPO". Forbes. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "The Scramble For Africa Continues — iROKOtv Closes $8M To Be The Netflix Of Africa". Techcrunch. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Millicom International Cellular: MTN joins Millicom and Rocket Internet to build Africa's leading Internet company". BusinessWire. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Rocket Internet's Marc Samwer On Cloning: We Make Business Models Better Because We Localize Them". Tech Crunch. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Germany's Samwer Brothers Take Their Web Copycat Act Global". Bloomberg. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
- ^ "Kaymu wins Online Retail Award in London". 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
External links[]
- Online marketplaces of Nigeria
- Retail companies established in 2013
- Internet properties established in 2013
- Rocket Internet