What Jiji does

Jiji is a multi-country online classifieds and marketplace platform founded in 2014, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with operations spanning more than 10 Sub-Saharan African countries (Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, both Congos) and an expanding international footprint that includes Bangladesh (via Bikroy, acquired May 2026), Sri Lanka, Albania, and North Macedonia. The company operates country-specific web platforms (e.g., jiji.ng, jiji.co.ke, jiji.com.gh) plus native iOS and Android apps, offering free classified listings across 17+ categories — vehicles, property, electronics, phones and tablets, home and furniture, fashion, services, jobs, and others. Technology is built around a self-serve marketplace platform with listing management, search and filter, tiered seller verification badges (Verified ID, VIP, Premium, Diamond, Enterprise), proprietary recommendation algorithms for buyer-listing matching, and an integrated advertising toolkit for seller promotion.

Jiji's business model is freemium: posting a listing is free, with revenue generated primarily through optional paid visibility upgrades (Featured, VIP Gold, Diamond, Enterprise tiers) and advertising placements. GTM is product-led and self-serve — sellers onboard and pay without sales intervention, growth driven by SEO, word-of-mouth, and in-platform referral. The go-to-market has been paired with a deliberate M&A consolidation playbook: Jiji enters a market, builds traction against incumbents, then acquires them — evidenced by acquisitions of OLX South Africa (April 2019), Cars45 (June 2021), Tonaton in Ghana (February 2022), and Bikroy in Bangladesh (May 2026). Target customer segments span individual consumer-to-consumer transactions (used vehicles, phones, real estate), small and medium business sellers seeking verification and prominence, and informal service providers; no enterprise or contractual B2B customer base is disclosed.

The company employs 501–1,000 staff and operates in a fragmented, high-fraud-risk classifieds environment where trust signals and listing liquidity are core competitive dimensions. It is privately held with no parent company disclosed; disclosed venture funding totals approximately $21M across a 2018 Series C led by Horizon Capital ($18M) and a 2019 extension led by Knuru Capital ($3M). Recent corporate moves have emphasized cross-border integration of Jiji's technology and monetization playbook into acquired platforms — most explicitly the stated intent to lift Bikroy's revenue by 50% through monetization model changes.

Name

Jiji

Legal name

Jiji

Website

https://jiji.ng

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Jiji is a multi-country online classifieds marketplace operating across 14 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Europe, where individual and SMB buyers and sellers post free listings across 17+ categories including vehicles, property, electronics, and phones. Revenue comes from paid listing upgrades and advertising, augmented by an active M&A consolidation strategy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Classifieds Marketplace

akta.pro primary industry

Cross-border Marketplaces (Multi-seller) (CRAFAJAA)

Keywords

• Online classifieds marketplace
• Free classified ads
• Seller verification badges
• Consumer-to-consumer listings
• Used goods marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Lagos

HQ country

Nigeria

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Featured/sponsored listing upgrades: Sellers pay for optional tiered upgrades (Featured, VIP Gold, Diamond, Enterprise) to increase visibility of their listings on the platform. These are optional paid add-ons on top of free baseline listings.
2. Advertising: Jiji generates revenue through advertising placements on its platform, including display ads and promotional placements within search results and category pages.
3. Monetization model change services: Jiji applies its commercial playbook — including monetization model changes — to acquired platforms like Bikroy, targeting a 50% revenue increase through model optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Jiji operates an online classifieds marketplace that enables individual buyers and sellers to meet and exchange goods and services across 17+ categories, including vehicles, property, electronics, phones & tablets, fashion, home furniture & appliances, services, repair & construction, and jobs. The platform uses a freemium model with free baseline listings and optional paid seller upgrades (Featured, VIP Gold, Diamond, Enterprise badges) that boost visibility and signal trustworthiness. It operates country-specific websites (jiji.ng, jiji.co.ke, etc.) plus native iOS and Android applications.

Product overview

Jiji is a multi-country classifieds marketplace platform operating across Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond. The core offering is a general classifieds platform enabling free posting and browsing of ads across 17+ categories (Vehicles, Property, Phones & Tablets, Electronics, Home/Furniture/Appliances, Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care, Services, Repair & Construction, Commercial Equipment & Tools, Leisure & Activities, Babies & Kids, Food/Agriculture/Farming, Animals & Pets, and Jobs). The company operates regional platforms for each country (jiji.ng for Nigeria, jiji.co.ke for Kenya, etc.) plus acquired brands (Tonaton in Ghana, Bikroy in Bangladesh), all accessible via web and native iOS/Android mobile apps. A seller verification system with tiered badges (Verified ID, VIP, Premium, Diamond, Enterprise) provides trust signals. Jiji's M&A strategy involves entering markets, challenging incumbents, then acquiring them—a playbook executed across African markets and into Asia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jiji.ng: Nigerian marketplace platform - free classifieds website for selling and buying goods and services including vehicles, property, electronics, fashion, and more.

Products and services

• Jiji Marketplace Platform (Nigeria) General classifieds marketplace platform for Nigerian users enabling free posting and browsing of ads across 17+ categories including vehicles (341,618 ads), property (98,897 ads), phones & tablets (87,694 ads), electronics (260,398 ads), home/furniture/appliances (535,819 ads), fashion (142,000 ads), and jobs.
• Jiji Regional Platforms (Africa) Network of country-specific classifieds marketplace platforms serving Kenya (jiji.co.ke), Uganda (jiji.ug), Tanzania (jiji.co.tz), Ghana (jiji.com.gh), Ethiopia (jiji.com.et), Senegal (jiji.sn), Côte d'Ivoire (jiji.co.ci), Congo-Kinshasa (jiji.cd), Congo-Brazzaville (jiji.cg), Albania (jiji.al), and North Macedonia (jiji.mk).
• Jiji Mobile App (iOS) iOS mobile application allowing users to post classified ads and browse listings on iPhones and iPads, distributed via the Apple App Store.
• Jiji Mobile App (Android) Android mobile application allowing users to post classified ads and browse listings on Android devices, distributed via Google Play.
• Bikroy (Bangladesh) Bangladesh's number one general classifieds platform serving the country's 175-million-person economy, operating under the Bikroy brand as a wholly owned Jiji subsidiary.
• Tonaton (Ghana) Ghanaian general classifieds marketplace platform serving West African users, fully acquired by Jiji in February 2022 and integrated into Jiji's network.

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BikroycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Jiji acquired Bikroy, Bangladesh's number one general classifieds platform, marking Jiji's first expansion beyond Africa into Asia. The transaction extends Jiji's operations to Bangladesh's 175-million-person economy. Jiji will retain Bikroy's existing brand and team while integrating its proprietary technology and commercial playbook over time. A Forbes source estimates the deal could reach up to $20 million, with Jiji planning to increase Bikroy's revenue by 50% through monetization model changes.
• BikroycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 May 2026Ukrainian IT company Jiji acquired Bikroy, Bangladesh's largest classifieds marketplace. Jiji will retain Bikroy's brand and team while integrating its own technologies — including recommendation algorithms and advertising tools — into the platform. Jiji plans to increase Bikroy's revenue by 50% through monetization model change.
• TonatoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2022Jiji Nigeria fully acquired Ghanaian classifieds platform Tonaton, expanding its network across multiple African countries. The transaction increased the user base and trading opportunities on both platforms, consolidating Jiji's market position in Ghana.
• TonatoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2022Jiji acquired its main competitor Tonaton.com in Ghana as part of a market consolidation move, eliminating the primary rival in the Ghanaian classifieds market and expanding Jiji's African footprint.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mercari: Japan- and US-focused C2C marketplace with mobile-first listing flow and tiered seller features. Comparable by self-serve listing model and consumer electronics/fashion category mix.
• Avito: Russia's leading horizontal classifieds platform with similar category breadth (vehicles, real estate, electronics, services) and tiered seller promotion model. Comparable by product structure, though serving a single large market rather than many smaller ones.
• Craigslist: Original horizontal C2C classifieds platform with a global network of city sites. Comparable breadth of categories and self-serve listing model, though with a much more minimal product and monetization stack.
• OLX: Global horizontal C2C/B2C classifieds marketplace; direct competitor across multiple emerging markets and the platform Jiji acquired the South Africa arm of in 2019. Closest comparable by category breadth and self-serve listing model.
• Facebook Marketplace: Meta's integrated C2C marketplace leveraging the social graph. Direct substitute in many of Jiji's categories (vehicles, electronics, home goods), with structural advantage of zero user acquisition cost.
• OfferUp: US mobile-first horizontal classifieds marketplace with seller verification, tiered promotions, and local meetup model. Closely comparable product-led growth motion and trust-signal design.
• Carousell Group: Singapore-based horizontal C2C marketplace operating across Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Comparable mobile-first, multi-category classifieds model with similar growth playbook in emerging markets.
• Leboncoin: France's dominant general classifieds marketplace, owned by Adevinta. Closely comparable in horizontal category mix, seller upgrade model, and mobile-first traffic; useful benchmark for monetization maturity in a single-country leader.

Regional players

• Quikr: India's horizontal classifieds platform across vehicles, real estate, jobs, and services. Operates in a different geography but with near-identical category breadth and emerging-market dynamics.
• Dubizzle: OLX-owned horizontal classifieds leader in the UAE and broader MENA region. Comparable by product, monetization, and emerging-market consumer base, though serving a different geographic cluster.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/jijinigeria
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCvAyphNspDQMFnp7g57jH-g
• Facebookfacebook.com/Jiji.Nigeria
• Instagraminstagram.com/jijinigeria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A4 records

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jiji