Sourcing supplies has always been a challenging task for informal traders. The solution aims to address those challenges since its founder knows them very well for being the son of an informal trader. 

Alerzo is a b2B solution developed by a Nigerian startup. It allows informal traders to easily source their supplies online.  The startup, which founded the solution, was established in 2019, by Adewale Opaleye. Since its inception, it has raised about $16 million to improve its technology and accelerate growth.

“I started Alerzo to help my mom, a single mother who ran two informal retail stores to support me and my three siblings. Before Alerzo, she had to close her shop and travel for hours to buy inventory to stay in business. [...] Women are often victims of theft because street boys know retail store operators often carry cash. I wanted to apply what I learned in China to make life better for working mothers in Nigeria,” explains the founder. 

Through its Android and iOS apps, merchants can easily access Alerzo's services. They first need to create their accounts. Then, they can browse the registered wholesalers, stock up in just a few clicks and get their goods delivered for free within 24 hours. “With Alerzo, informal retailers can receive and make cashless payments, track store profitability better and facilitate a portfolio of digital services,” the platform reads. 

In 2021, the startup had a team of fewer than 250 people (according to Crunchbase data) and was working with about 150,000 informal merchants. In March 2023, it decided to lay off some of its staff because the economic environment in Nigeria was not what it projected it to be. 

“Given previous market dynamics, we hired very aggressively during the past couple of years to fuel quick growth and expansion across the country. This does not align now with the economic environment today, so we, unfortunately, had to make changes to our business to be more focused around pursuing strong unit economics,” it said in a release.  

Despite this lean period, Alerzo is not giving up on its expansion plans. The Nigerian e-commerce platform wants to expand across Africa and beyond. 

Adoni Conrad Quenum