In recent years, buyer behaviour has changed dramatically. Buyers are looking for convenient ways to get products and services and are doing extensive research online before the selection of goods and services. Buyers are also making direct purchases from e-commerce platforms regardless of their geographical location without stepping a foot outside their homes due to many reasons such as the lack of time, availability of options to choose from, discount deals and many more.
According to research by Oberlo, e-commerce sales are expected to account for 18.1 percent of retail sales worldwide in 2021. This means, e-commerce is growing rapidly and is becoming an important part of customer experience across the globe.
In today’s market, having an online presence is an integral requirement for any business and most importantly, retailers. This provides businesses with the opportunity to transact with global customers and expand without boundaries. This is why Plendify, an African B2B marketplace that seeks to bring African suppliers, wholesalers and businesses to global markets was created. Many businesses are doing amazing things but have a small total addressable market, hence, Plendify seeks to support these businesses by helping them transition online & ultimately help them reach their target market with their online presence, making them reachable to a wide variety of customers.
Founded by three friends namely; Beau, Michael and Roger, who have had a number of years of experience as entrepreneurs. They met in Canada in 2018 and often had long discussions about Africa and the various opportunities present within the continent. They had the vision of supporting small businesses since they play a huge role in economic growth within Africa. The three friends initially created a company that helped businesses get access to finance and support their financial growth but in the late summer of 2018, they decided to control the narrative by pivoting the marketplace and helping businesses get access to wider markets online.
For many small businesses, beyond the founder’s and employees’ immediate relations such as friends and family and a few external customers, many people do not know these businesses exist or actively patronize them, hence, the Plendify platform has made it possible for such businesses to reach wider audiences simply by amplifying their online presence without the need for technical skills to create a website or e-commerce platform.
The core values of Plendify are culture code, integrity, blank sheet, growth, empathy and transparency. Through these core values, employees of Plendify are able to provide excellent services to customers diligently.
Through the use of Flutterwave as the payment gateway, customers of Plendify are able to receive payments seamlessly across the globe regardless of the currency or geographical location. Plendify can be downloaded on the App Store or Google Playstore.
Flutterwave has a big breadth across Africa. We don’t want an excuse of I’m in this country so I cannot pay you; Offer more options to suppliers and buyers.
Beau Sackey, Chief Enabling Officer
With Plendify’s payments powered and protected by Flutterwave, Africa’s top online payment platform, the company is able to bridge the gap between many small businesses in Africa and their target markets to help drive sales. At Flutterwave, we are on a mission to simplify payments for endless possibilities. If you manage an online business, let us help you get paid across the world, reach out to us here.