Efritin bids farewell to Nigeria;attributes it to high cost of data.

According to news reports this week, online classifieds marketplace, Efritin.com has closed shop in Nigeria due to Nigeria’s economic conditions, less than 2 years after its launch.

“It basically has to do with the fact that we didn’t get desired returns on our investment, so we decided to scale back on our investments in Nigeria and that means we are forced to let many people leave the company,” Nils Hammar CEO of Saltside, owners of Efritin told ITWeb Africa in an interview.

The staff of the company are already leaving the head office, which is located in Ikeja and the properties of the company are being put up for sale. However, the company clarified that the site is not going to be shutdown but it will be up and running as it has been. But how do they intend to manage this?

“I think the data cost in Nigeria is very high. In comparison to other parts of West Africa, Africa and the rest of the world, it is very expensive to use the Internet for the vast majority of the people. It is very difficult for e-commerce and classifieds because they are quite late in the evolution of the Internet industry,” said Nils.

A statement on its website reads;

''Efritin has left the building

It's been a pleasure serving you all over the years, but we have now decided to close down the shop and go home. A big thanks to everyone for the support, and who knows - we might meet again'' 

Yet  another e-commerce company closes shop. What's happening?