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WhatsApp Business Crosses Over 200 Million Monthly Active Users

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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4

Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp Business has recorded a significant increase in its user base, after it crossed over 200 million active users.

The increase in the user base has been attributed to the improvements implemented on the WhatsApp business platform by Meta.

As part of its improvement on the platform, the company recently disclosed that WhatsApp Business users will be able to create “click-to-WhatsApp” ads without a Facebook account.

The company noted that sellers can create, purchase, and publish ads for Facebook and Instagram directly from within the app.

WhatsApp business is also adding another paid feature that lets merchants automate the process of sending personalized messages to their customers. The company however didn’t reveal the pricing details as it disclosed that it will start testing the feature soon.

The social messaging app has also taken major steps to foster its payments business on the platform. In April this year, the company introduced the ability for users to directly pay businesses through chat in Brazil enabling end-to-end shopping. Also, in May, it rolled out the same feature in Singapore.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has revealed that the company is building out a number of tools around business messaging so that people can follow up and complete transactions and get support through messaging, and then payments, so that people can complete transactions too.

He added that business messaging is going to be the next major pillar of the company’s goal as it is ongoing to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more.

Launched in 2018, WhatsApp Business allows companies to be easily found by users on the platform. This enables users to initiate a conversation with companies holding a business profile in a seamless way, without the need to download an extra app or switch programs.

The app which is available as a free download on Google Play and App Store helps merchants have a business presence on WhatsApp and manage conversations with their customers by using tools to automate, sort, and quickly respond to their messages.

WhatsApp Business, the messaging platform tailored majorly for small businesses, has no doubt been on a positive growth trajectory, as its number of active users keeps increasing, surpassing the number of the previous year. More than 40 million people reportedly view a business catalog on WhatsApp each month.

In 2020, there were more than 50 million WhatsApp Business app users. In 2021, the number of global consumers and companies using WhatsApp Business was estimated to surpass 1.2 billion users. It was estimated that WhatsApp Business generated around 1.2 billion U.S. dollars in revenue worldwide.

The Asia-Pacific region and the Latin American region, which include some of WhatsApp leading global markets such as India and Brazil, were estimated to have the highest number of users of WhatsApp business.

In 2022, global users amassed approximately 283.5 million downloads of WhatsApp Business, up by 35 percent compared to the previous year. In the same year, it generated $906 million, almost all from the WhatsApp business platform.

Why Consumers and Businesses Use WhatsApp Business?

  • 64% of WhatsApp users agreed that WhatsApp fosters a personal connection to businesses.
  • A large percentage of WhatsApp users say the platform is the easiest method of contacting a business.
  • 65% of WhatsApp users say they feel more confident messaging businesses compared to when sending a mail.
  • A large percentage of WhatsApp users reveal that WhatsApp business builds long-lasting customer relationships.

With the recent economic downturn that has impacted several businesses across the globe, small, medium, and large businesses have continually worked on their customer support services to meet the demands of their customers and WhatsApp business has been very effective this period.

The future no doubt looks bright for WhatsApp business as it continues to record a new milestone each passing year. Research suggests that by 2024, the total spending on the popular instant messaging app business platform is expected to amount to 3.6 billion U.S. dollars.

E-Commerce Startup Shop Zetu, Secures $1 Million Pre-Seed Funds to Expand Portfolio And Product Offerings

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Kenyan fashion technology company that provides an e-commerce marketplace, infrastructure, and tools for fashion vendors, Shop Zetu, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to expand its portfolio and product offerings.

The funding round was led by Chui Ventures, with participation from Launch Africa.

The pre-seed round also saw participation from Angel Investors which include Ben Munoz, the co-founder and CEO of Nadine West, Patricia Ithau, Kendall Tang, the CEO of RT Knits; Sumit Bhasin of Estee Lauder Inc; the CEO of WPP Scangroup, and Peter Njonjo, the co-founder and CEO of Twiga Foods.

In its plan to become a one-stop shop, Shop Zetu intends to use the funds raised to increase its offerings in skincare, Beauty, home decor, and hair categories.

This is because the startup is currently scaling regional delivery services in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, scaling beyond Kenya, over the next few months. It is also striving to recruit worldwide fashion companies and more than triple the number of sellers on its platform to 1,000.

Speaking on the funds raised Shop Zetu CEO Marvin Kiragu said,

“The goal is for ShopZetu to become the leading lifestyle platform. We are looking to expand our beauty, skincare, hair, and home décor offerings, which are all expressions of one’s identity. We want to become a one-stop shop.

“Our goal is to reduce the barriers to starting and scaling a fashion brand by leveraging ShopZetu’s reach and resources. We have good case studies of brands that were incubated and launched on ShopZetu before scaling online and establishing physical stores”.

Founded in December 2019, as a multi-brand, multi-vendor online fashion marketplace for affordable and trendy fashion, footwear, beauty, and accessory brands, Shop Zetu seeks to power online fashion retail in Africa.

The startup offers vendors a variety of services such as content, digital marketing, warehousing, last-mile delivery, and returns management.

Catering to Women, Men & Kids, the e-commerce platform is particularly excited to carry a large range of global as well as African-owned brands and is always looking for new brands to bring on its marketplace. Shop Zetu wants vendors selling on its platform, to be well-stocked with high-quality products, and offer inclusive sizing, among other things.

The online marketplace currently serves over 200 fashion and beauty brands and over 30,000 customers in Kenya. Also, it was reported to have sold over 100,000 products in the last two years, with a 400% rise in monthly orders since January 2021.

Notably, in April 2023, Shop Zetu announced its partnership with Safaricom to launch the Shop Zetu Mini App on the M-PESA Super App. The collaboration will enable more than 7 million M-PESA Super App customers to access and shop for women’s and men’s fashion from over 200 vendors within the e-commerce app.

The team at Shop Zetu will dispatch and deliver items to customers across Kenya within three days of placing an order, and customers will receive an SMS with a tracking link to monitor their shipment’s progress.

Also, M-PESA customers can access the Shop Zetu Mini App under the “Services” option on the M-PESA Super App. Through this partnership, Shop Zetu aims to help its vendors expand their market share by tapping into M-PESA’s Super App reach.

The e-commerce startup is building Africa’s largest fashion e-commerce company providing a marketplace connecting fashion vendors to customers across the continent. Its mission is to make fashion accessible across Africa.

Velocity of Goodness and the Making of a Happy Society

By
Tiamiyu Ismail
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0

Velocity of goodness is a phrase I have adapted from the economics of money to describe how non-monetary values such as a simple act of kindness and goodwill can be spread and help individuals to build social capital for social progress. The velocity of goodness can be defined as the rate at which good deeds flow and change hands in society.

Goodness, or an act of kindness is not a static but an investment whose value or dividends appreciate as it is continually being used up in circulation.

Here is how it may work out:

Supposing you are currently in a comfortable condition or you are in school or you are working diligently in pursuit of your finest aspirations.  Your potential helper,   currently unknown to you, is somewhere else and is probably not in as admirable condition as you are at the moment. If you had been aware of his existence and his potential role in your life, you would probably have loved to locate him and offer him your token with every sense of responsibility.

However, you do not have to know your potential helper, nor do you have to reach him in person. You only need to dispense good deeds at every opportunity you get. This will get to every necessary person that connects to your potential helper.

Essentially, the ideal of the velocity of goodness like that of money is not in its face value but the rate at which it flows and changes hand in circulation.

The Age of House Demolitions in Nigeria

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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1

If you check 2,000 years of global GDPs, you will see an inflection point for all developed nations. Yes, once any nation has a functional system that protects property rights, the nation begins to develop. No country has become developed without a strong property rights regime. Property rights (physical, intellectual, etc) is the most fundamental element in the rise of nations.

I call all politicians in Nigeria to show compassion and work with their citizens on this house demolition thing. While there could be safety reasons for some demolitions, that must also be put within the context of the law. In most countries, if a house is considered unlivable, the city regulator will send it a notice, and depending on the gravity, the sheriff (the police) will go and seal the property and evict the residents. Once that is done, the landlord is provided a remediation plan to fix whatever has to be fixed. 

But rarely do you see a government moving into bulldozing houses without going through the law even if the government had sent a letter. Imo state did that and Lagos is doing the same, leaving behind its excellence of following due process which has made it the nation’s finest opportunity place.

Kano has something I do not understand. Even if the previous government sold state land, bulldozing those houses by fiat does not seem fair to the citizens as some paid for the land, and followed what they thought was a fair and transparent process, executed by the previous state government. Nigeria needs to excel on building, over tearing down without compassion!

If  residents of Salanta Quarters in Kano followed due process for these lands, as stated by a previous government, it is just bluntly unfair to punish them this way. Why not go to the Court and give them the space to defend their rights? It is either Nigeria wants to advance or move backwards. But one thing is clear: jungle destruction will bring more hatred and animosity.

In Uwadiegwu, an Igbo novel, a man said that he borrowed only from his kinsmen because that insured his family. Why? If you borrow from your kinsman and the loan goes bad, he can lock you up, but at the same time, he will be responsible for the wellbeing of your family. (The Igbos name “Nwaoha” meaning a child belongs to the community, not just the parents.)  But what happens when your government is the one kicking you out, is the government responsible for your wellbeing? We need compassion please.

Positivism in Sociological Inquiry

By
Tiamiyu Ismail
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0

Positivism is attributed to August Comte, a French classical sociologist, also known as the father of Sociology. In the 19th century, August Comte conceived the idea of scientific study of human behaviour and society which eventually got much éclat. However, before Comte, the fact of social relations had been mainly explored in the general field of philosophy. Comte’s ability to adopt methods of the natural sciences to inquire into and understand human nature on the macro-social level led to the emergence of Sociology as an independent field of knowledge.

Positivism essentially is the scientific and systematic study of social phenomena including human behaviours, culture and institutions to arrive at valid and objective knowledge. The idea of Positivism anchors on the desirability and possibility of studying, interrogating and understanding human behaviours and the social world as a whole in a way similar to how natural scientists study and understand their subject matters in the natural world.

Perspectives in Positivism

Methods: First, the social world is to be seen as similar to the natural world in terms of how it can be studied. Therefore, only the scientific method is accepted as valid in the process of Sociological inquiry.

Facts: Knowledge essentially consists of identifying facts and making connections between facts. In other words, a knowledge or theory that explains behaviours must establish a causal relation of facts. Behaviours do not just manifest except they can be linked to observable facts. Human behaviours are determined by rules that are developed within social groups. For example, the need for economic survival leads people to develop economic institution and work groups. And the need to socialize children leads people to develop family groups.

Structuralism: Society is a system consisting of distinct but interconnected parts. Therefore, we experience the social world as a force that is over and above our individual ability to alter it. Just as we cannot escape the force of gravity, we cannot escape the social forces etc.

Empiricism: empirical study is the crux of positivism; in other words, understanding ‘what is’ as against ‘what should’. The researcher is to be personally objective in their work, not directly involved in the behaviour that is being observed. Avoiding biases means the research can be verified and the method used can be replicated.

Criticism

Sociology and social science cannot outright compare to natural science since they have subject matters that are varied in nature. Therefore, the idea that only the scientific method is valid and should be engaged in sociological inquiry cannot hold as true, at least not in all cases.

The idea that all behaviours are attributable to observable facts has been argued to be a reductionist view which is too crude to understand the complexities of social life.

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