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How Konga is Revolutionizing Agriculture in Nigeria through e-Commerce
Konga, Nigeria’s foremost composite retail giant, has once again led from the front, revolutionizing agriculture in Nigeria by leveraging e-Commerce in helping rural farmers access better agricultural inputs such as crop seedlings, fertilizers and much more at highly competitive prices.
The initiative, a first in Africa, is a partnership with UKAid-funded Frontier Technology Livestreaming established in 2016 to help innovators apply frontier technologies to the biggest challenges in development.
The programme, which commenced in March 2019, has seen Konga – arguably the most trusted player in Africa’s biggest market – leverage its e-Commerce engine, huge technology backbone, Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed payment system – KongaPay, considerable network of branches across the nook and crannies of Nigeria, advanced delivery capabilities through an internally owned logistics outfit – KXpressand effortless ability to reach the last mile in empowering rural, smallholder farmers to overcome obstacles faced in their agricultural practices.
Konga emerged as the technology partner for the project after it came out tops in a rigorous selection process.
Through Konga, the agricultural sector – one of the most important in Nigeria in view of the fact that it provides livelihoods for about 70 per cent of the rural population – is receiving a much-needed turnaround aided by technology.
Part of the challenges that have for long held back this critical sector is that of reduced yields attributed to limited use of modern agricultural inputs by farmers, sub-optimal delivery times and limited information on availability and price.
This problem confronts about 80 per cent of farmers in the rural population, the overwhelming majority of whom are small-scale farmers who contend with low productivity, resulting in severely reduced incomes. In addition, these farmers are often excluded from the formal sector and find it difficult to access capital or credit facilities. Also, most agriculture input suppliers are based in the urban areas, with limited presence in rural areas due to high transaction costs.
However, Konga is bringing its suite of advanced competencies to bear in revolutionizing this sector.
Specifically, Konga is making it easy for these rural, smallholder farmers to purchase agricultural inputs online, meeting demands that have for long defied government and other allied agencies. Further, the e-Commerce giant is providing farmers in hard-to-reach, far-flung and under-served locations in Nigeria with an easy to use platform for listing and purchasing agricultural inputs and products, as well as providing logistics through KXpress and a reliable payment solution through KongaPay within the ecosystem.
Konga’s e-Commerce platform is accessible to rural farmers with low internet connectivity, allowing them to buy inputs at competitive prices from agro-dealers and suppliers, with pre and post-pay options.
So far, Konga has recorded commendable success with the initiative, onboarding 12 merchants, recording over 7000 hits on the website and successfully delivering scores of orders.
GaniatEttu, an Independent Technical Expert on the project, has hailed Konga for its sterling work.
‘‘The biggest challenge has been onboarding the suppliers, the agro dealers. Konga is used to doing business with dealers, but they found that in this space, it’s not business as usual given that their customers (the farmers) operate in rural or peri-rural areas…Physical sales are what works for them. If farmers can access agricultural inputs they require at the right price and when they need them, this will increase their yields and productivity will rise significantly.’’
Meanwhile, the pilot initiative, which has seen a fruitful marriage of e-Commerce and agriculture, has also seen potential talks of Konga making additional critical investments in agri-tech.
This was confirmed by Nick Imudia, Co-CEO, Konga Group, who described the experience garnered from the project as very insightful and useful.
‘‘The agricultural sector in Nigeria requires government to better channel its resources in helping it to scale. There are fears of famine or food insecurity in Nigeria in the next six months as recently predicted by the United Nations. But our experience shows that Nigerian rural farmers have the capacity to feed the nation and even have some left over for export. All they need is the right support.
‘‘We are doing our best in this area as well but we cannot do it alone. What determines whether we grow the category or invest is the number of customers we get. Do we get unique requests for products? Do we see growth in specific regions that would mean opening warehouses or new logistical hubs?’’ he concluded.
The World Bank announced on Wednesday that it had approved a total of $1.08 billion in concessional financing for Nigeria to enhance education quality, build household and community resilience, and improve nutrition for underserved groups.
In a statement, the world’s largest multilateral development bank said that the loan is intended to help strengthen its extensive reach and impact in Nigeria in the face of economic hardships, especially in the wake of the Federal Government’s economic reforms in 2023.
According to the statement, the loan comprises $500 million in additional financing for the Nigeria Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) Program, $80 million for Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN 2.0), and $500 million for Hope for Quality Basic Education for All (HOPE-EDU).
Specifically, the statement said that the NG-CARES Program will support the Nigerian government in expanding access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and communities.
The financing for ANRIN aims to increase the utilization of quality and cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant women and lactating mothers, adolescent girls, and children under five in select areas.
The new financing for HOPE-EDU will focus on improving foundational learning, access to basic education, and strengthening education systems in participating states.
It further stated that the NG-CARES Program was initially designed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and has since evolved into a shock-responsive platform providing multisectoral interventions for the poor and vulnerable.
Implemented at the subnational level across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, the program stimulates the local economy through social transfers, labor-intensive public works, livelihood grants, basic community services, agriculture and food security interventions, and support to micro and small enterprises.
The additional financing will strengthen the program’s extensive reach and positive impact, underscoring the need for continued support in the face of economic hardships, including those from the 2023 fuel subsidy reforms and foreign exchange rate unification.
The statement noted that ANRiN 2.0, which aligns with Nigeria’s National Development Plan (2021-2025), the Multisectoral Plan of Action for Food and Nutrition (2021-2025), and the Nutrition-774 initiative, offers an evidence-based, multisectoral approach to combating malnutrition and food insecurity, focusing on maternal and child health, integrated nutrition services, and household food security.
It added that the program will increase the utilization of preventive and curative nutrition services, improve maternal and young child feeding practices and dietary diversity, increase access to micronutrient-rich foods, and provide essential nutritional support to vulnerable populations, mitigating the immediate risks of malnutrition and food insecurity.
The initial ANRIN program reached over 13 million children under five with nutrition services between 2018 and 2024.
For HOPE-EDU, which is part of a series of three interrelated operations alongside HOPE-Governance and HOPE-Primary Health Care, the program aligns with Nigeria’s Universal Basic Education program objectives and strategies.
HOPE-EDU will support structured pedagogy approaches to foundational literacy and numeracy, create learning opportunities where school overcrowding impedes participation, and adopt decentralized allocation and management of Universal Basic Education Intervention Funds, school management, and system information.
The program is expected to directly benefit 29 million children enrolled in public primary schools, 500,000 public primary teachers, and more than 65,000 public primary schools and their School-Based Management Committees.
The program will also receive co-financing in the amount of $52.18 million from the Global Partnership for Education Fund.
The statement quoted Ndiamé Diop, country director for Nigeria, The World Bank, as saying: “Investing in human capital is critical for Nigeria as it offers the best opportunity to unlock the enormous potential of the country.
“These new sets of programs will help Nigeria accelerate education quality and support vulnerable citizens.
“The HOPE-EDU program will enable better education outcomes by implementing bold reforms and making the right investments to equip the fast-growing young population with foundational skills and knowledge necessary for rapid and inclusive economic growth.
“Nutrition interventions from ANRIN will enhance household access to micronutrient-rich foods and nutrition services at the primary healthcare level, improve dietary diversity, and provide essential nutritional support to vulnerable populations, mitigating the immediate risks of malnutrition and food insecurity.
“The NG-CARES additional financing will support the Nigerian government in transitioning from responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 crisis to building household and community resilience.”
A suit seeking to stop Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited’s deal transferring its mining licence to Renaissance African Energy Company Limited has been filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The Incorporated Trustees of Human Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) sued Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited, Renaissance African Energy Company Limited, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and four others over the transfer of an oil exploration licence.
Other defendants are: Mr Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general and minister for Justice of the Federation; the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission; and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, a consortium consisting of four Nigerian independent oil and gas companies – ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Plc, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, the Waltersmith Group, and Petrolin – recently completed the acquisition of the entire equity holding in the SPDC.
In the suit filed by Kunle Adegoke on behalf of the plaintiff, HEDA raised concerns about alleged non-compliance with Nigeria’s legal and regulatory frameworks governing the petroleum industry.
In suit number FHC/L/CS/651/2025, the group alleged that Shell’s sale of the onshore assets to Renaissance violated several Nigerian laws, including the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
Key issues raised by HEDA include concerns over the legality, transparency, and regulatory compliance of the transaction.
The plaintiff asserted that the process failed to meet statutory provisions, including the requirement to conduct and disclose an Environmental Evaluation Study under the Upstream Petroleum Environmental Regulation, 2022.
The organisation argued that allowing the transaction to proceed without adhering to these legal requirements could set a dangerous precedent and undermine the national and public interest, particularly regarding environmental sustainability and the welfare of communities in the Niger Delta.
HEDA requested the court to declare that by sections 10 (f), 95 (11) and (15), 235, 237, and 238 of the PIA Regulations; 4.2.5, 5.2.4, 5.2.5 and 5.4 of the Guidelines for Obtaining Minister’s Consent to Assignment of Interest in Oil and Gas Assets, 2021; Regulations 7 and 8 of the Upstream Petroleum Environmental Regulation, 2022; Regulations 8(1) and (2), 9(1) and (2) of the Upstream Petroleum Environmental Remediation Regulations, 2024; Regulation 13(1) – (3) of the Gas Flaring, Venting and Methane Emissions (Prevention of Waste and Pollution) Regulations, 2023; Shell’s transfer of its oil exploration license to the 2nd defendant “is invalid, unlawful and not backed by the extant and enabling Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The organisation also wants the court to declare that, given the failure of the defendants to comply with the provisions of the various sections, the consent/approval given by the government to Shell in order to transfer/assign/divest its oil exploration licence to the Renaissance is unlawful, null and void.
The company’s spokesperson could not be reached for comments as of press time.
In March, Shell said it had completed the sale of SPDC to Renaissance, as announced on January 16, 2024.
The energy giant explained that the divestment of SPDC aligns with its intent to simplify its presence in Nigeria through an exit of onshore oil production in the Niger Delta and a focus on future disciplined investment in its deepwater and integrated gas positions.
Renaissance now controls SPDC’s 30 per cent stake in the SPDC Joint Venture, an unincorporated joint venture with the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd (10 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Limited (five per cent).
Bosun Tijani, minister for Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, has stated that the federal government is geared towards creating about one million technology jobs for teeming Nigerian youth.
Tijani stated this at the official opening of a solar-powered community ICT center built by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abeokuta, as part of activities marking the 38th Lisabi festival.
The minister emphasised the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to invest in the digital economy, driving inclusive growth and empowering the country’s teeming youth population.
“The president made it very clear when I came into office, that he will spend efforts and resources in creating one million technology jobs. So, for anybody that is following the development in the world today you will see that there’s no world without technology.
“There is a strong shortage of technology workforce all over the world, and while a lot of the developed countries have ageing population, and not giving birth to kids, in Nigeria, the average age is 16.9, so our young people are being projected to be the workforce of the future, not only for Nigeria.
“This center here is one of many. In the next two months, we are launching about 30 of them all over the country. This center will be properly animated and we will put resources into ensuring that there are courses for young people to come and take here.
“We are also going to ensure that there are job opportunities that we can connect them to and if anyone wants to follow, follow the three million Technical Talent Program which we have started already in the country”, he said.
He therefore charged the youth to remain focus, and not be discouraged, adding that there is massive employment opportunities in technology as there is no enough people to work in technology all over the world.
“If you ask anyone that works in technology, the entry salary is between N350,000 to N500,000. Technology pays really well, so instead of worrying about things being hard, they should take advantage of centers like this, empower themselves and go for the opportunities the world has to offer them”, he added.
Speaking earlier, Oba Adedotun Are, Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, lauded President Tinubu for approving the centre in Abeokuta, saying that this has no doubt marked another new dawn for the people of Egbaland, given rapid growth, development, and economic empowerment of the people.
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