OmniRetail, an African B2B e-commerce platform, has hired Steve Dakayi as Country Lead for Ivory Coast as it expands into Francophone Africa.
Dakayi joins OmniRetail after shutting down BetaStore, a B2B e-commerce startup he founded in 2020. The former Betastore founder has worked in e-commerce for a decade and was commercial and fulfillment lead for Jumia.
He will bring his experience to some of the key markets OmniRetail is expanding to.
“As a company and philosophy, once you have gotten your foot in properly, you start looking into expansions,” Amber Yadav, OmniRetail Head, Retail Division, said on a call with TechCabal. “We are looking at new geographies that make more sense in Francophone Africa like Cameroon, Senegal, Cote d Ivoire. That is the reason for our expansion.”
OmniRetail’s expansion into Francophone Africa mirrors a similar move by B2B e-commerce competition,Wasoko. Francophone Africa has in recent times demonstrated the capacity for massive growth. This can be linked to a stable currency pegged to the Euro, making it immune to FX instability like its West African counterparts.
High economic growth is also another factor that makes the Francophone region favourable. According to the IMF, six out of the seven fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa are francophone countries
“Francophone Africa is very underestimated,” Dakayi said, stressing the region’s growth potential. “Some of the latest trends we have observed is significant growth in the middle class. This has led to increased purchasing power and new habits in terms of consumption. These are key growth drivers.”
Dakayi believes that OmniRetail’s FMCG focus would thrive in Francophone countries. “We are not looking at the competition. We just want a business driven by unit economics,” he said. To achieve this progress, OmniRetail will focus on building strong partnerships and staying asset-light to drive profitability in these regions.
Dakayi will report to Deepankar Rustagi, the CEO of OmniRetail, and head the Francophone expansion, which will begin with Ivory Coast.
Dakayi’s appointment comes as OmniRetail intensifies its focus on profitability after being named one of the fastest-growing companies of 2024. Dakayi said the company’s vision is to become the leading e-commerce platform in Africa.
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