From Nigeria to Africa and to the World: Digitizing Open-Air Markets, One Market at a Time

By Alex Nwoko · March 14, 2026 · 8 min read

Across sub-Saharan Africa, gleaming shopping malls often sit just blocks away from sprawling open-air markets that have hummed for centuries. The malls represent the continent's aspirational future. But the markets? The markets are its economic heartbeat — and they are staggeringly underserved by technology.

Consider the numbers:

97%

of food & personal care sales in Nigeria happen through open-air markets ^[1]

600K+

small shops and market outlets in Nigeria alone ^[1]

85%

of sub-Saharan African employment is informal ^[2]

$1.1T

mobile money transactions processed in Africa in 2024 ^[3]

These are not fringe economies. This is the economy. And yet, almost none of it is searchable, verifiable, or digitally accessible. No ratings. No payment protection. No product-level search. No trust infrastructure of any kind.

MAKKET is building the missing layer — starting in Nigeria, designed for Africa, built for the world. One market at a time.

It started with a question

You can search for a ride from your phone. You can order a meal. You can book a hotel room on another continent. But you cannot search for a verified seller in Balogun Market — the largest textile market in West Africa, less than 30 minutes from your house.

That gap is not a technology problem. Nigeria has over 151 million internet subscribers and broadband penetration above 50% ^[4]. Mobile payments are mainstream — Africa processed $1.1 trillion through mobile money in 2024, with 1.1 billion registered accounts ^[3]. Last-mile logistics networks span every major Nigerian city. The infrastructure exists. What is missing is the trust and discovery layer that sits between the buyer's phone and the seller's stall.

That is what MAKKET builds.

Nigeria first: Three launch cities

MAKKET launches in 2026 across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt — three cities that together represent the full spectrum of Nigerian commercial culture.

Lagos

The commercial capital and home to some of the busiest trading hubs in Africa. Balogun for textiles. Computer Village — the busiest IT hub in West Africa, generating an estimated $2 billion annually and contributing roughly 2% of Nigeria's GDP ^[5]. Alaba International for electronics. Mile 12 for perishables and farm produce. Ladipo for auto parts. Idumota, one of Lagos's oldest markets and the nerve centre of Nollywood distribution. Oshodi, Trade Fair Complex, Tejuosho, Oyingbo, Ikeja Along, and dozens more — each with its own specialization and trading culture.

Abuja

The federal capital's markets serve a rapidly growing population with diverse commercial needs. Wuse Market anchors the city's retail activity. Garki, Utako, Kubwa, Gwagwalada, Nyanya, Mararaba, Karu, and Jabi round out a network that stretches across the FCT and its satellite towns. As the seat of government and a magnet for internal migration, Abuja's markets reflect the commercial diversity of all 36 states.

Port Harcourt

The oil capital and Niger Delta's commercial gateway. Oil Mill Market — historically rooted in palm product and cassava trade — has evolved into a general-purpose hub for the region. Creek Road, Mile 1, Mile 3, Rumuokoro, D-Line, Choba, and Eleme complete a market network that serves Rivers State and beyond.

Why these 3 cities? Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt represent three distinct commercial cultures (Southwestern, Northern/FCT, and Niger Delta) and have the logistics infrastructure to support doorstep delivery from day one. If the MAKKET model works here, it works anywhere in Nigeria.

The Nigerian expansion: 300+ markets and growing

Beyond the launch cities, MAKKET has already mapped over 300 markets across Nigeria. The expansion roadmap targets anchor markets that define their regions:

Ariaria International

Aba, Abia State

Over 37,000 stalls and an annual turnover exceeding $3 billion ^[6]. The manufacturing heart of southeastern Nigeria — locally produced shoes, bags, and clothing at factory-direct prices.

Onitsha Main Market

Anambra State

Estimated annual trade value of $3–5 billion, with over 2 million traders and support workers ^[7]. Consistently ranked among the busiest markets in all of Africa.

Ogbete Main Market

Enugu State

The largest market in Enugu and the wholesale source for retailers across the Southeast. Competitive pricing drives regional commerce.

Bodija & Dugbe Markets

Ibadan, Oyo State

Ibadan's commercial pillars. Bodija for foodstuffs at affordable prices. Dugbe and Oja-Oba as the ancient city's largest foodstuff and general goods markets.

Kurmi Market

Kano State

Established in the 15th century by King Muhammed Rumfa. One of the oldest continuously operating markets in West Africa. Artisan crafts, leather, and textiles.

Kuto Market

Abeokuta, Ogun State

Abeokuta's primary commercial market. Strategic gateway position between Lagos and the broader Southwest.

Jos Main Market

Plateau State

Recognized as the largest indoor market in West Africa. Architecturally designed with organized sections for efficient navigation.

Zaki Biam Yam Market

Benue State

Nigeria's largest specialized yam market, in the "Food Basket of the Nation." Moves an estimated 1.5 million tubers annually.

The playbook is consistent: map the market, verify every seller, connect them to buyers via product-level search, and secure every transaction through escrow-backed payments via licensed partners. Then move to the next city.

Depth over breadth. Every market done properly before the next one begins.

The silent giant: Africa's informal markets

Here is what makes MAKKET's long-term vision compelling: the challenge we are solving in Nigeria is not a Nigerian problem. It is a continental one.

Africa's informal retail sector — comprising open-air markets, street stalls, and neighbourhood kiosks (known as dukas in East Africa, spazas in South Africa) — is vastly larger than the formal sector in both footprint and economic weight. According to a 2024 USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report, open-air markets account for 97% of national sales of food, beverages, and personal care products in Nigeria ^[1]. The ILO estimates that 85% of total employment in sub-Saharan Africa is informal ^[2]. BCG projects that traditional retail will still account for 65–75% of sales across most of Africa through 2030 ^[8]. Nigeria's informal economy alone represents an estimated 55% of national GDP ^[9].

These are not marginal economies operating at the edges. This is the primary engine of African commerce. And it is almost entirely analog.

The analog friction points

Despite their dominance, Africa's open-air markets share a set of structural challenges that limit their potential:

No digital visibility. A trader in Merkato (Addis Ababa) or Kejetia (Kumasi) can only sell to people who physically walk past their stall. There is no way for a buyer 10 kilometres away — let alone in another city — to discover them.
No financial history. Most transactions are cash-based, with little or no digital record-keeping. Traders cannot prove their creditworthiness to banks. This invisible status denies them the working capital needed to grow their businesses.
No trust infrastructure. No reviews, no ratings, no verification, no payment protection. Every transaction requires the buyer to make a leap of faith.
Fragmented supply chains. Individual stall owners must often close their shops to travel to wholesalers, negotiating prices and managing their own logistics — expensive, time-consuming, and inefficient.
Inventory blindness. Without data, traders cannot predict demand. Stockouts of essential goods and over-investment in slow-moving items are chronic problems.

These friction points do not just frustrate individual traders — they cap the total economic output of the entire informal sector. The market infrastructure is there. The demand is there. What is missing is the digital trust layer.

The African opportunity

Every major African city has markets that could benefit from the infrastructure MAKKET is building in Nigeria. The same trust gap exists everywhere:

Merkato

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The largest open-air market in Africa by area, spanning several square kilometres with over 13,000 registered businesses ^[10]. A labyrinthine trading complex that serves as the commercial heart of Ethiopia.

Kejetia Market

Kumasi, Ghana

Over 12 hectares, approximately 20,000 vendors, and 50,000 daily visitors ^[11]. One of the largest single markets in West Africa, recently redeveloped at a cost of US$259 million.

Makola Market

Accra, Ghana

Accra's central commercial hub. Textiles, imported goods, and household items in a dense, high-volume trading environment.

Gikomba Market

Nairobi, Kenya

Approximately 65,000 workers and over 200,000 daily visitors ^[12]. East Africa's largest second-hand clothing market and a vital commercial lifeline for millions of Kenyans.

Kariakoo Market

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Supports an estimated 30,000 direct vendors. Recently rebuilt with Sh28 billion government investment and reopened in 2026 as a 6-storey modern complex ^[13].

Warwick Junction

Durban, South Africa

One of Africa's most vibrant urban markets. Spices, traditional medicine, fresh produce, and crafts in a heritage trading district.

Sandaga Market

Dakar, Senegal

Dakar's iconic central market. Fabrics, electronics, crafts, and the commercial pulse of Francophone West Africa.

Grand Marché

Kinshasa, DR Congo

The primary market of one of Africa's largest cities. Serves a metropolitan population of over 17 million.

In every one of these markets, the same questions apply: Can a buyer search for a specific product before making the trip? Can they verify a seller's reputation? Is there any payment protection? The answer, today, is no. The same gap that exists between a buyer in Lekki and a seller in Balogun exists between a buyer in Nairobi's Westlands and a seller in Gikomba.

Why Nigeria is the right starting point

If you can build trust infrastructure for Nigerian markets, you can build it anywhere.

Nigeria presents the most complex market environment on the continent: over 300 major markets, 12+ product categories, multiple languages and trading cultures, varied logistics challenges across different terrains and city structures, and a consumer base that is both digitally savvy and deeply sceptical of platforms that over-promise and under-deliver.

The hardest market is the best proving ground. The verification model, the escrow-backed payment infrastructure through licensed partners, the trust scoring system — everything MAKKET builds for Nigeria is designed from day one to be portable. The playbook that works in Balogun should work in Kejetia. The trust system that works in Computer Village should work in Merkato.

This is not a pivot-later strategy. It is a start-deep, expand-outward strategy. Nigeria is not a stepping stone — it is the foundation.

The "one market at a time" philosophy

MAKKET does not do "launch in 20 countries overnight." We map individual stalls. We verify individual sellers in person. We build trust at the ground level, one market at a time.

Why? Because trust cannot be manufactured at scale by flipping a switch. A verification badge means nothing if no one verified anything. A trust score is worthless if it is not built on real transaction history. A payment protection system is only as good as the partners and processes behind it.

Every market MAKKET enters goes through the same rigorous process:

Map — Field agents walk the market and document every seller.
Verify — Sellers are onboarded through a multi-tier verification process, from initial listing through field-agent confirmation to performance qualification.
Launch — Buyers can search products across verified sellers, compare prices, and transact through escrow-backed payments via licensed partners.
Grow — Trust scores compound. Seller reputations become visible.

The compounding effect is real: each verified market makes the next one faster. The playbook sharpens. The field agent training improves. The technology adapts. The partner network expands. By the time MAKKET reaches Kejetia in Kumasi or Merkato in Addis Ababa, the operational muscle will have been built across 300+ Nigerian markets first.

What the future looks like

Close your eyes and imagine:

A buyer in London ordering handwoven aso-oke directly from a verified weaver in Abeokuta — the same artisan who has sold from the same stall for 20 years, now visible to the world.
A chef in Johannesburg sourcing rare spices from a verified trader in Kurmi Market, Kano — a 15th-century marketplace, now searchable from a smartphone in South Africa.
A designer in Paris discovering bespoke leather bags from Ariaria International in Aba — factory-direct quality, verified provenance, payment protected.
A family in Abuja comparing tomato prices across Mile 12 in Lagos, Bodija in Ibadan, and their local Kubwa Market — finding the best deal and getting it delivered by morning.

This is not science fiction. Every piece of this technology exists today. What has been missing is the trust layer — the verification, the escrow-backed protection through licensed partners, the stall-level data — that makes cross-market, cross-city, and eventually cross-border commerce possible.

Join us

MAKKET launches in 2026 across Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Over 300 markets have been mapped across Nigeria. The technology is built. The verification model is proven. The expansion playbook is ready.

The mission is global. The execution starts local. One market at a time.

If you are a buyer who wants market prices without the market trip, a seller who wants customers beyond your foot traffic, or simply someone who believes that the world's oldest form of commerce deserves modern trust infrastructure — join the waitlist at makket.io.

Sources & References

USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Retail Foods Annual — Nigeria (2024). Open-air markets account for 97% of national sales of food, beverages, and personal care products across over 600,000 outlets.
International Labour Organization (ILO), ILOSTAT Informality Statistics (January 2024). Nearly 85% of employment in Sub-Saharan Africa is informal.
GSMA, State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money (April 2025). Africa processed $1.1 trillion in mobile money transactions in 2024, representing 65% of global volume across 1.1 billion registered accounts.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), 2024 Year-End Performance Report. 151.6 million internet subscribers; broadband penetration crossed 50.58% in November 2025.
WeeTracker (2019); Rest of World (2022). Computer Village, Ikeja generates an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue.
Ariaria International Market — Wikipedia; Abia Herald (2019). Over 37,000 stalls with annual turnover exceeding $3 billion.
Pulse Nigeria (2025); SpringerLink (2022). Onitsha Main Market: estimated annual trade value of $3–5 billion, with over 2 million traders and support workers.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Future of Traditional Retail in Africa (2022). Traditional retail expected to account for 65–75% of sales across most of Africa through 2030.