Facebook rolls out Marketplace in Nigeria

Social media giant, Facebook has announced the rollout of its online classifieds platform, Facebook Marketplace in Nigeria.

Facebook Marketplace is a platform where people buy and sell. I must say it is surprising that it has taken this long to launch this service in Nigeria since it launched in South Africa in January 2018 to compete with OLX and Gumtree.

The service is also available in East Africa – Ethiopia and Kenya and North Africa – Egypt, Algeria and Morocco.

According to Adaora Ikenze, Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa, on the launch:

“The launch of Marketplace in Nigeria further highlights our ongoing efforts in helping to boost buying and selling in Nigeria and connecting communities.”

“This comes at a crucial time as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact people and businesses, and with many people buying and selling on Facebook, this will provide people with a convenient destination where they can discover new products, shop for things they want or find buyers for the things they are ready to part with,” she added.

Facebook launched Marketplace for the second time in 2016 with a mobile version first. It first launched the Marketplace in 2007 but it never took off and was offloaded to a third party called Oodle in 2009. In 2007, only the desktop version was available.