Kaymu Takes the Lead in Algerian Ecommerce

Kaymu Takes the Lead in Algerian Ecommerce

With its 40 million inhabitants, Algeria’s untapped digital market is starting to attract serious attention from major regional ecommerce player Kaymu. Some may view existing challenges, such as the lack of online payment gateways and low internet penetration, as obstacles but others see this as an opportunity.

Since 2009, several Algerian entrepreneurs have launched makeshift ecommerce websites, mostly in vain. But the 2014 arrival of Rocket Internet-backed Africa Internet Group (AIG) has changed the game. AIG has been clear about its ambition to become the number one digital player within Africa’s emerging economies.

Today, they have several brands in key digital sectors, such as real estate, auto sales, and food delivery. One of these brands is Kaymu, an eBay competitor. In Algeria, Kaymu is already the top ecommerce website in the country, according to analytics company Alexa.

“We wanted to launch an ecommerce company [in Algeria]. We were not going to wait until someone else did it,” said Hocine Temmar, Kaymu’s managing director in Algeria for the past six months. When Kaymu launched in January 2014, the only real player in the digital economy scene was classified platform Ouedkniss. Other websites have since been launched, including Jumia, another AIG brand much like Amazon, and local ecommerce site Batolis. Guiddini launched in 2009 and has managed to update their website, but are still far behind Kaymu and were never really in the race.

“The market is big enough to attract a lot of people, but we aim to remain number one,” insisted Temmar. For now, Kaymu is making the of its first-mover advantage. “The last six months have seen a growth rate higher than the one in the last two years,” said Temmar. Thanks to his 20-strong team’s work, the company now counts over 500,000 visits per month and has seen an undisclosed two-figure increase in monthly sales, he said.

Lost Password