Jumia Nigeria has described the recent tripartite motion by regulatory agencies on the urgent need for government to develop framework to regulate the activities of e-commerce platforms in Nigeria as a bold step.
Mrs Juliet Anammah, the Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, said that the tripartite move by Consumer Protection Council (CPC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), and Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) was a welcome development.
Anammah said that the move was initiated at a recent stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, with the theme: “The Role of Standards and Quality Regulation in Electronic Commerce,” organised by SON.
She quoted the Director-General of SON, Chief Osita Aboloma, as saying during that forum that “the need for regulatory framework was to improve the level of customers’ trust, and ensure quality for the money spent in the sub-sector.
“Government wants to support the initiative so it can grow in a way that is positive for the economy and consumers.”
She said that a lot of information shared with CPC and SON were currently yielding fruits, adding that “we are also considering other agencies just to make sure we are constantly giving information to assist in shaping the right policies for the industry.”
The Jumia boss added that it was noteworthy to mention that Nigeria was not the only country contemplating putting in place a framework to regulate the over 13 billion dollars worth industry.
“The government of India, for instance, is planning to bring in an e-commerce law and a sector regulator to effectively deal with all aspects of online retail.
“Some of the key provisions of the draft policy include: large e-commerce firms should phase out discounts within two years; e-commerce companies have to store consumer data within India, among others.
“Although some of the salient features of the India ecommerce regulatory framework might not be directly applicable to Nigeria, it is expected that the government agencies vested with the responsibility of developing this framework should review countries with existing regulatory framework and rely on the recommendations of local eCommerce operators, such as Jumia.”
She pledged that Jumia would continue to offer necessary support to ensure such framework was developed with the purpose of protecting unsuspecting shoppers online.