Supermart CEO Urges Startups on Skill Sets for Business Sustainability

Raphael Afaedor, co-founder and chief executive officer, Supermart.com.ng, has encouraged startups, particularly, techpreneurs to prioritise development of adequate skill sets for their business sustainability.

Afaedor, one of the pioneer CEOs of Jumia Nigeria told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that they are replicating the experience garnered then at Supermart.

Admonishing other startups, he said, “On building a sustainable SME you need to have the right skills set, because businesses are apparently difficult to build. Actually, working in the team as a founder is helpful, but a co-founder is better. Then, you need a very talented team. You can find them locally. It is important you quickly realise you are not just like any starter out there. The concept of a startup gives the impression you are allowed to make some mistakes.

“But what you need is to grow the company very quickly. At supermart.com, for instance, we have aggregated all the supermarkets in the city and been able to put their inventories online. People go there to buy everything they want. Our duty is to pick up the items and deliver to them. We do this because we believe there is a segment of customers we serve, especially the ever-busy professionals. They can’t afford to spend so much time in traffic. So, with that clear customer segment in mind, we are pursuing our vision tailored to their needs. I think that is how startups need to think; know your customers. If you do that, the customers will reward you with their money”.

Afaedor cautioned startups against self-styled business leadership, adding he prefers co-founder business model in fine-tuning business ideas.

The Supermart.com.ng CEO said, “On entrepreneurs being on their own, I will always prefer to have a co-founder and a solid founding team. Over the years, we have been able to groom people right from the days of Jumia. It is easier to go back to those people and express the idea you have. It is absolutely; you can’t simply do it alone”.

He further debunked the claims that Nigeria’s e-commerce sub-sector has been saturated.

According to him, “People talk about e-commerce and make it sound as there is already saturation in the ecosystem. That doesn’t make sense at all. E-commerce is about retail. If we deeply reflect on the market, there are thousands of companies operating offline and many coming up, whereas e-commerce is just about 2% of the total market space. And why should it be difficult for someone with money in his account not be able to buy car spare parts through the mobile phone.

“E-commerce is not only about buying or selling mobile phones and electronics online. So the notion that the e-commerce has been saturated is very wrong. I think more people coming in to the space serving different categories of the market. I have not seen an e-commerce site focused on selling furniture. We are already covering the food and groceries space. The advantage is that it must be one company that covers the segment. Market forces should be allowed to determine who stays or not”.

On perceived forex impasse expected to impact the e-commerce space, he said, “It depends on what the person is trying to do. Supermart is ensuring that people are able to shop for the groceries whenever they need. E-commerce is a long time investment and cannot be excluded from the larger societal challenges.

“First, we need to come online and start improving. What we can do is add value by allowing the customer to shop everything they want and make sure they are delivered at scheduled time. We have the widest assorted of groceries in Nigeria; over 6,000. Of course, it is bigger than all the physical shops. We have the open market where you can buy whatever food items and ingredients online, we deliver it. By doing that we are painting a picture where someone will say, ‘wait, I can sit in my room in Surulere and shop at Mile 12 market without moving an inch’”.

Afaedor said that the key is for a startup to understand the market prospect customers’ needs.