A Nigerian rested digital marketplace, Eki.digital, is set to bounce back in March 2026, positioning itself as the world’s first “Global Trade Zone.”
The platform aimed to connect African businesses with international buyers, significantly boosting the continent’s currently low share of global commerce.
The company, a subsidiary of Eki Holdings, announced its grand relaunch after a break, which its founder, Dr Godwin Aigboviose Omage, used to refine the platform for the post-pandemic digital economy.
While e-commerce adoption has accelerated globally, Africa’s contribution to worldwide trade remains below 3 per cent, Omage believed that it is not due to a lack of talent but a lack of access to a global market.
The founder of Eki.digital in a statement said the platform’s relaunch is timely, coinciding with the rise of intra-African trade and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is establishing a unified market for digital goods and services.
According to him, Eki.digital is designed to align with this vision, offering a homegrown solution to a continent-wide challenge.
Omage noted that, by empowering local entrepreneurs to sell globally, the platform is expected to help Nigeria and other African nations increase their revenue from international commerce.
“Eki.digital is a comprehensive, multi-category “super app” that integrates retail, services, jobs, and real estate. It features a built-in digital wallet for secure cross-border payments, addressing a key barrier for many small and medium-sized African businesses.
“The platform also offers incentives for new vendors, including a 10 per cent bonus on sales for the first three months.The name ‘Eki’ itself holds deep significance, meaning ‘market’ in the Edo language of Nigeria,” Omage said.
He explained that the name is a deliberate nod to Africa’s rich history of trade and aimed to carry that legacy into the digital age.
“The relaunch of Eki.digital and its focus on an inclusive global trade model is a significant development for both Nigeria and the wider African continent. For Nigeria, it represents a private-sector-led effort to tackle a fundamental economic challenge: diversifying the economy beyond oil and gas and creating new avenues for wealth.
“By providing a direct channel for local artisans, farmers, and service providers to reach international customers, Eki.digital can help unlock the potential of a country with a large, youthful, and entrepreneurial population.
“More broadly, this platform addresses a continent-wide issue of a low share in global trade. The African Continental Free Trade Area has focused on removing barriers between African countries, but platforms like Eki.digital could provide the missing link to the rest of the world.
“Its success could serve as a model for other African tech ventures, demonstrating that homegrown digital solutions can be a powerful engine for economic empowerment and can help rewrite Africa’s narrative in the global marketplace,” Omage added.
