Kaymu
Type of site
E-commerce
Available inEnglish, French, Portuguese
Founded2013 (2013)
Area servedAfrica, Asia, Europe
IndustryInternet
ParentRocket Internet, Africa Internet Group, Asia Pacific Internet Group
Launched2013

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 a Nepalese Citizen 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

  1. ↑ "Ivory Coast stallholders turn to digital marketplace". BBC. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "Rocket Internet Partners With Qatar's Ooredoo In New Fund For Asian E-Commerce Startups". Techcrunch. Apr 23, 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kaymu Nigeria launches new schemes to improve quality and performance". Ventureburn. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  4. ↑ "OLX Announces Expansion in Eleven International Markets". BusinessWire. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "Rocket Internet At It Again, Launches eBay Clones In Nigeria & Pakistan". Techmoran. 16 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Nigerian online marketplace Kaymu expands to Morocco and Ghana". Ventureburn. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "E-Commerce Platform Kaymu Expand its Operations to Morocco". Morocco World News. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  8. ↑ "Kaymu Nigeria celebrates 2nd Anniversary, to get more Merchants on board". Tech360NG. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  9. ↑ "Rocket Internet launches general classifieds platform in 8 countries". Aim Group. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Kaymu.lk In Sri Lanka With Android App Launch". The Sunday Leader. 9 June 2015. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kaymu: An African Success On Mission To Change Ecommerce In Bulgaria". Startups.bg. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  12. ↑ "E-commerce becomes a force in African retail market". PC World. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  13. ↑ "Tamim extends Kaymu deal". The Daily Star. No. 11 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Home". kaymu.com.
  15. ↑ "Hellofood, Lamudi, Carmudi, Jovago, Everjobs, Vendito & Kaymu OUT - Jumia becomes ONE-STOP-SHOP". 17 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "Rocket Internet Companies". Rocket Internet. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "Lift Off: German Startup Incubator Rocket Internet Launches IPO". Forbes. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  19. ↑ "The Scramble For Africa Continues — iROKOtv Closes $8M To Be The Netflix Of Africa". Techcrunch. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  20. ↑ "Millicom International Cellular: MTN joins Millicom and Rocket Internet to build Africa's leading Internet company". BusinessWire. 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  21. ↑ "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.
  22. ↑ "Germany's Samwer Brothers Take Their Web Copycat Act Global". Bloomberg. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Kaymu wins Online Retail Award in London". 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
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