The online auction site, which launched unofficially 5 months ago, is set to launch officially come June 2008. Ete Ometoruwa, CEO of Firstnaija Internet Solutions Ltd, proprietors of Firstnaija.com, believes that the company has something positive to offer Nigeria and Nigerians. "For so long, Nigerians within and outside the country have been faced, rightly or wrongly, with a reputation for online fraud, and subsequently many honest Nigerians have been excluded from the exciting and profitable world of e-commerce. Firstnaija is set to change all that", he said.
Given the reputation he refers to, isn't the company facing an uphill task? Mr Ometoruwa doesn't believe so. "We understand the local business terrain, and we have spent the last two years putting the necessary security, logistic and management infrastructure in place. We know that most Nigerians are honest, hard-working people. We believe that the time is right for these honest Nigerians to take advantage of the benefits that online trading can afford them".
Firstnaija.com is an online auction offering participants a safe, reliable and efficient medium of trading. The website, which is aimed at connecting buyers and sellers of products, operates much like eBay®, the world's largest online auction site, and allows traders and sellers to list their products, interact with each other to verify features of the product, terms of sale and complete the sale of good safely. The site functions as a local farmer’s market would function - as a meeting place to buy and sell goods people have brought with them from elsewhere. Like eBay®, Firstnaija.com does not actually sell goods that it owns itself - it merely facilitates the process of listing and displaying goods, bidding on items, and paying for them. It acts as a marketplace for individuals and businesses that use the site to auction off goods and services.
Firstnaija.com is currently targeted towards Nigerians, in Nigeria. "At the moment, our focus is on providing a safe and efficient platform for Nigerians within the country to exchange goods and services at auction, something many Nigerians do on the well-known auctions sites around the world. We believe that the majority of Nigerians are honest, law-abiding people, and we are availing them with an opportunity to earn extra income, purchase items at great prices and participate in what we plan to build into Nigeria's largest online community", Mr Ometoruwa says.
The company believes that it has successfully tested its system over the last 5 months, making adjustments and fine-tuning processes along the way. And of the prospects of the company in the long run, Mr Ometoruwa says, "Firstnaija.com is not 'here today and gone tomorrow': we are here for the long haul. Of course there are a number of challenges, but we are committed to bringing the great service our initial users have had over the last 5 months, to the generality of Nigerians after our June Launch".
Firstnaija.com is at http://www.firstnaija.com.
