Jiji Acquires Bangladesh Marketplace Bikroy

Jiji has acquired Bikroy, Bangladesh’s largest online classifieds marketplace. This is extending the Nigerian-founded company’s expansion beyond Africa.

Jiji Chief Executive Anton Volianskyi declined to disclose the transaction value. However, he said the company funded the deal through internal resources and shareholder backing.

The acquisition comes just over a year after Jiji entered Bangladesh by launching its own competing platform. This is the company’s first market outside Africa.

The deal is Jiji’s third acquisition of a rival marketplace in six years and its second purchase from Sweden-based Saltside Technologies. In 2022, Jiji acquired Saltside’s Ghanaian platform Tonaton after years of direct competition in the market.

“This is a deliberate strategy, and we are direct about it,” Volianskyi said in comments shared with TechCabal.

Jiji’s approach has remained consistent across markets. They launch organically, pressure competitors, and pursue consolidation once it becomes commercially attractive.

The company used a similar strategy in 2019 when it acquired OLX Africa’s operations across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania. That transaction cemented Jiji’s dominance in African classifieds and pushed its monthly audience above eight million users at the time.

Jiji says it now serves more than 90 million annual users and processes roughly $70 billion in annual gross merchandise value across its platform network.

Bikroy will continue operating under its existing brand. Jiji said preserving the platform’s market position and recognition in Bangladesh remains central to the acquisition strategy.

Founded in 2012, Bikroy has more than 10 million app downloads and processes over $3 billion in annual gross merchandise value, according to figures provided by Jiji.

The company plans to migrate Bikroy onto Jiji’s technology infrastructure and introduce new seller monetisation tools. The tools include auction-style listing promotions and advertising systems already used across its African operations.

The acquisition also intensifies Jiji’s competition with Daraz, the Alibaba-backed e-commerce company. Daraz remains one of the largest digital commerce players in Bangladesh.

Jiji’s expansion suggests African technology companies are increasingly looking beyond the continent for growth as competition intensifies and regional markets mature.