Case Study: Zwanayo.com–Congo’s Fast-Growing Marketplace Built with CS-Cart

Den Simmon August 6, 2024August 6, 2024

Built on CS-Cart, Zwanayo.com is a marketplace to improve the online service in Congo. Its mission is to enhance collaboration between local retailers and entrepreneurs for increased customer loyalty and higher sales.

Why is Zwanayo so cool? That’s why

🚀 2 years from idea
to launch

📦 4,000 products
in stock

🚚 10,000 orders
delivered

Yoan Malong, the project founder, came up with the idea of taking the overall image of the African online marketplace usage experience to the next level. He believes it will stimulate the growth of online shopping thanks to a simplified ordering and delivering approach.

“I’ve seen different marketplaces working in the UK and USA. I’ve seen what they can do and how convenient they are. I strongly wanted to bring that user-friendliness to local users and see if this kind of business might work well right here in Congo. My goal was to build an e-commerce platform that would regroup and centralize the already existing marketplace ecosystem.”

Bonus from Yoan Malong:
Webinar on the most important metrics
every marketplace owner should care about:

From Idea to Launch

Launching a full-scale marketplace in Congo was a different experience compared to what Yoan has seen in European countries. On the one hand, the idea was to bring all big vendor names to one place and manage them offering a diverse selection of high-quality products online.

On the other hand, it was necessary to ensure the platform’s ease of use along with order and deliver simplicity. This was especially important, as people in Congo rarely use high-end smartphones, tablets, or laptops.

CS-Cart turned out to be an optimal solution. It comes with a set of built-in features including multi-vendor functionality, split payments, and user groups as a part of the integrated marketplace management system. Although Yoan has some experience in coding and working with WordPress, he eventually opted for CS-Cart as a simpler, faster, and easier-to-manage and customize solution.

“Congolese use mobile devices. But those are mainly low-quality smartphones or tablets with not enough capacity to quickly launch high-performing apps or services. So, we needed a platform to meet specific demands of the market and the people comparing comprehension of the e-commerce platform right here in Congo.”

Zwanayo, fast-growing marketplace in Congo

Development and Customization

The project went live in May 2022. It took Yoan 2 years from the idea of creating a marketplace to the initial launch. Today, the platform has over 4,000 products on stock and around 10,000 products delivered by 8 different vendors.

Yoan opted for UniTheme2 as the foundation for the marketplace design. However, it was customized to meet the specific needs of the local audience. While the African market differs from countries like Europe or the US, it comes with niche-specific challenges. So, the marketplace required a piece of customization.

“One thing that we wanted to do was to make it easier for local vendors and entrepreneurs to understand the platform and use it. There is a unified and globalized standard in European countries or North America. But in Africa, we have different challenges. The online payment infrastructure needs improvement. Some users do not even have banking accounts. Besides, most Congolese use low-quality gadgets. Most of them have gone out-of-date. We wanted to launch a marketplace that would meet specific needs of Congolese users.”

Simple checkout process

Expansion and Challenges

Yoan believes the platform will grow into the biggest marketplace in Congo. What’s more, he plans to expand the borders and establish strong online representation in other African countries with no online shopping facilities. Eventually, Zwanayo.com might grow into the largest marketplace across Central Africa.

The main challenge was to find an all-in-one solution that would combine enough marketplace management tools in one place. Apart from WordPress which required extra plugins and lots of coding for customization, Yoan opted for CS-Cart as a unified solution with integration ease, multi-vendor support, and customization features.

“CS-Cart is very easy to implement. It lets you do what you want to do. I can organize my marketplace however I want to make it run better and smoother. It is good for beginners as well. Who knows, maybe it is high time we became the biggest Marketplace in Central Africa.”

Key Features and Support

In Congo, the online banking system is not as developed as in Europe. What’s more, the majority of locals do not have banking accounts, which makes it difficult for them to shop online. So, Yoan required a fast-operating platform that allows integration of third-party services like online payment platforms and e-wallets.

Another requirement was to ensure multi-vendor support to manage listing, rates, and other assets in one place. Although the overall speed could be improved at some point, the platform meets all primary goals in terms of marketplace functionality. It offers enough integration opportunities and flexibility.

“Digital payments are a pain, as the majority of Congolese do not have banking accounts. So, we teamed up with Airtel and MTN, which are the biggest telecommunication companies here, and integrated their mobile payment solution letting customers pay directly using their phones. The integration process was simple. The support team was very helpful. They quickly informed me of any case. In fact, at some point, I realized I ran out of questions. As for improvements, I would appreciate it if they notified me of updates, like, “Hey, did you know that we have got the new admin panel?”

ℹ️ Keep up with all CS-Cart – updates. Learn more about new features, browse through the release history not to miss improved functionality, latest software versions, and smaller fixes.

Achievements and Future Plans

The marketplace is extending. It attracts more vendors with high-quality products at a reasonable price. Right now, it has around 4,000 products on stock and about 10,000 items regularly delivered by 8 different vendors.

As for future plans, Yoan believes he can cover more locations offering an advanced shopping experience to a wider audience.

“Right now, we are based in one city. Our goal is to move to the capital and eventually become the #1 eCommerce platform in Central Africa. We wish more people in Africa could order high-quality products and get them delivered to the front door. While being represented yet in only one city. Delivery to other locations takes time. So, we need to expand”.

Advice for New Entrepreneurs

Yoan recommends focusing on launching the platform first instead of thinking about vendors. This is where CS-Cart can be a foundation of the future business. Considering your target audience and the experience your marketplace will deliver is also crucial.

“I think beginners should focus first on making the platform and people that are going to use it. I think that’s the best advice. If you think about vendors too much, you will get discouraged after a while. Make the first move. With each new step, it becomes easier and easier and you just adapt your strategy as you go. Beginners should be ready for lots of hard work as well.”

Conclusion

The story behind Zwanayo.com shows how CS-Cart can help create a customized marketplace that meets business expectations. With a focus on the target audience and their needs, business owners can quickly launch a project with enough potential to become the most influential eCommerce platform in the region.

Den Simmon

Den Simmon is a dedicated IT writer with 12+ experience of producing different pieces of content for eCommerce, Fintech, DevOps, and other emerging IT industries. For many years, Den has been examining and testing popular SaaS platforms and website builders to let users select solutions that meet their business needs.