TechPression

Tag: Alerzo

  • Mastercard, Alerzo partnership aims to connect 10,000+ Nigerian MSMEs to digital economy by year-end

    Mastercard, Alerzo partnership aims to connect 10,000+ Nigerian MSMEs to digital economy by year-end

    Mastercard has partnered with the Nigerian B2B e-commerce business Alerzo and the USAID-funded e-Trade Alliance to fast track the digital transformation of MSMEs in Nigeria.

    By year’s end, this program hopes to empower more than 10,000 small enterprises, encouraging sustainable growth and financial inclusion.

    Veedez, a tool for digital payments and business administration, and Alerzoshop, a digital B2B marketplace, are two examples of the cutting-edge digital innovations brought about by the alliance.

    Read also: AfriGO, OPay’s alliance to transform Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem

    These are enhanced by Mastercard’s cutting-edge payment options, which include Payment Gateway Services, QR codes, and Tap to Pay. When combined, these technologies help Nigerian MSMEs overcome important obstacles like laborious supply chains, manual inventory management, and restricted access to financial services.

    The partnership, which was announced on Monday by Alerzo CEO Adewale Opaleye and Mastercard’s West Africa Country Manager Folasade Femi-Lawal, is in line with Mastercard’s worldwide goal of bringing 50 million micro and small companies and one billion people into the digital economy by 2025.

    Partnership shows unlocked possibilities through PPP – Mastercard 

    “Mastercard is committed to driving financial inclusion and empowering small businesses worldwide.”

    “Our collaboration with Alerzo and the e-Trade Alliance in Nigeria provides MSMEs with the digital tools and resources needed to thrive in today’s digital economy. By facilitating seamless digital payments and offering comprehensive business management solutions, we are fostering a more inclusive financial ecosystem and driving innovation and growth within the sector.”

    “This collaboration demonstrates the immense possibilities that can be unlocked through the power of public-private partnerships,” said Folasade Femi-Lawal, country manager, West Africa, Mastercard.

    MSMEs can use Alerzoshop to stock up using their phones, improving their access to suppliers and enabling safe, effective, and seamless digital payments using Mastercard’s extensive worldwide network.

    Conversely, Veedez is revolutionising the way small businesses function by assisting them in digitising procedures, opening up new sales channels, and boosting profits—all while offering crucial financial support through microlending services.

    Read also: VunaPay clinches top prize at Latitude59 in Nairobi, set to represent Kenya in Estonia

    Alerzo’s commitment to digitally connect millions of MSMEs in Nigeria 

    Adewale Opaleye, CEO of Alerzo Limited, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Mastercard and e-Trade Alliance for this digital transformation project in Nigeria. As the leading partner of choice for informal retailers and MSMEs, we recognize our responsibility to introduce digital retail solutions that will strengthen the economy and facilitate the adoption of a cashless society for the collective benefit of all.”

    “This initiative is part of our commitment to connecting millions of MSMEs in Nigeria to a world where digital connectivity is integrated into their businesses, making them more profitable and fulfilling,” he added.

    Along with improvements to digital infrastructure, the program provides digital and financial training to give MSMEs the skills required to process payments over Mastercard’s network with ease.

    The alliance demonstrates the transformative power of teamwork in propelling Nigeria’s economic development by promoting a more inclusive financial sector.

  • Mastercard, Alerzo partner to digitize Nigerian SMEs

    Mastercard, Alerzo partner to digitize Nigerian SMEs

    A global leader in financial services, Mastercard has partnered with Nigeria’s premier technological service provider Alerzo to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry.

    The collaboration’s primary objective is to improve company sustainability and market performance via the provision of digital payment solutions, financial training, and credit.

    The combination of Alerzo’s B2B e-commerce know-how with Mastercard’s worldwide infrastructure and network will make digital payments more widely available to companies of all sizes. 

    The partnership will provide a number of innovative offerings, such as the digital payment system VeedezPay, the complete company management tool VeedezPro, and the ERP solutions required by larger corporations. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that utilize VeedezPay and VeedezPro will also have access to micro-lending solutions.

    The SMEs in Nigeria have struggled due to a lack of digitalization, which has hampered their access to new sales prospects, the capacity to manage sales and inventories, and the ability to gain access to credit. The Alerzo-Mastercard alliance intends to tackle these issues head-on by providing financial education and training to one million SMEs in Nigeria over the course of the next 5 years. This initiative will hasten the widespread usage of financial services and facilitate the transition to digital payment methods.

    Read also: Nigeria’s Retail-startup, Alerzo lays off 400 people

    Promoting contactless payments for SMEs

    Adewale Opaleye, CEO of Alerzo Limited, commented on the partnership and its benefits, saying, “We’re excited to partner with Mastercard to support the growth and success of SMEs in Nigeria.” In conjunction, we have the expertise, resources, and experience to keep helping companies in Nigeria with training, credit, and new ways to accept payments. These innovations may be pivotal, particularly for our overlooked informal merchants.

    “Nigerian small enterprises have shown remarkable fortitude in recent years, but they continue to confront significant challenges to maintaining a profit margin. According to Mastercard’s Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa, Ebehijie Momoh, “We are excited to combine our expertise and resources to drive digital transformation and financial inclusion, providing training and solutions that enable Nigerian businesses to thrive through our partnership with Alerzo.” To elaborate, Momoh said, “This collaboration will play a crucial role in digitizing payments and supporting the growth and success of Nigerian businesses.”

    The partnership’s low-cost acceptance options, such as Tap on Phone, QR, Pay-By-Link, and Payment Gateway Service, will be beneficial for a variety of SMEs and informal merchants. VeedezPay and VeedezPro, both available on the App Store and Google Play, enable businesses to quickly begin receiving digital and contactless payments. Interested established firms may learn more about the ERP system and its integrated business management tools by contacting the appropriate company representative.

    The Alerzo-Mastercard partnership seeks to facilitate company expansion by increasing access to credit. The Alerzoshop B2B commerce software will first provide micro-lending solutions to informal shops, giving them access to capital to grow and seize chances. The effects of this collaboration go well beyond the scope of an individual company. Millions of individuals who depend on their small enterprises to provide for their families would benefit from efforts to strengthen SMEs and informal retailers.

    What to know about Alerzo

    Alerzo is an all-in-one technology platform designed to equip micro-businesses with the digital products and services necessary to run profitable and sustainable businesses.

    Alerzo is one of Nigeria’s top IT support companies, serving over 250,000 companies with innovative solutions. Its POS terminals exist in every local government in Nigeria and are used by hundreds of people every month, making its services available to any company that needs them.

    Over the years, the company have built a network of over 100,000 credible small businesses, 90% of which are run by women. Also, it makes running a business easier for MSMEs with our end-to-end digital solutions.

  • Nigeria’s Retail-startup, Alerzo lays off 400 people

    Nigeria’s Retail-startup, Alerzo lays off 400 people

    At least 400 employees at Alerzo, Nigeria’s most popular B2B e-commerce platform, have been laid off, which is about 15% of the company’s total staff. Reductions in the workforce occurred during the first week of March 2023.

    Yet, staff members who wished to remain anonymous grumbled about the company’s hostile culture, lack of structure, and lack of work-life balance. Another anonymous source claims that on March 1, at about 6 p.m., impacted workers received termination emails and were immediately locked out of all company-issued software. Other workers started getting termination emails on Saturday.

    The anonymous sources also acknowledged that this wave of layoffs was more extensive than the previous one in 2022, which largely impacted warehouse workers, with the company’s head of communications apparently among those cut-off. The firm said the layoffs were necessary owing to severe setbacks due to macroeconomic circumstances, post-election uncertainty, and the need to strengthen its unit economics.

    Read also: GitHub to implement remote work policy, 10% layoffs

    Also, sources also revealed that severance packages would include one month’s compensation for departing workers. In addition to helping them find new employment, the firm assured them that their HMO coverage would be maintained until the end of the year. According to our two reliable sources, the severance payment was widely seen to be disappointing. “most workers will get two months to pay as part of their severance package, but this was not conveyed to them due to various reasons,” Alerzo said.

    Moreover, the firm said that, although it was expecting a downturn in business owing to the elections, cash shortages were a double whammy that may have impacted business. According to Alerzo, “many suppliers and customers are experiencing the distress of the cashless scenario and the election slow down, so we had to set the firm on a route to profitability. We’d want to be in a position where we have tighter control over unit economics, and we think we have the resources to get there.

    After the layoff raid in early September 2022, this is the second wave of layoffs in the span of seven months for the firm. First-party e-commerce company Alerzo had over 2,000 workers (half of whom were full-time) in Nigeria before the first round of layoffs in September of last year.

    Reasons for Alerzo’s layoffs 

    Alerzo claims that the first wave of layoffs was caused by poor performance and the automation of some tasks (including the development of an internal ERP). However, the company’s second wave of layoffs, carried out in response to a drive to increase profitability, affected 15% of full-time workers across a wide range of divisions, reducing headcount to about 800. However, the precise number of casual and temporary employees who lost their jobs is yet uncertain.

    Bolt lays off 17 Nigerian workers to restructure company operations

    For Alerzo, which serves over 100,000 retailers, the basis for a second layoff isn’t outlandish. A representative for the firm claims that Alerzo ran into significant difficulties in the third quarter of 2021, long before the company raised over $10 million in Series A funding and entered the marketplaces of Ibadan and Lagos concurrently.

    Alerzo, like other African businesses, including mobility firm SWVL, a financial technology startup Chipper Cash, and e-commerce startup Sendy, has laid off employees twice in the last year. In addition, as part of its restructuring efforts in Q4 of last year, Jumia let off 900 employees across its 11 regions, or 20% of its total workforce, in what can be regarded as a tough couple of months for African e-commerce businesses.