OurPass, the digital commerce solution often referred to as the Fast for Africa, officially launched its mobile app into the market today, following a virtual event themed Redefining The Online Shopping Experience.
Samuel Chukwunonso Eze, CEO and Founder of OurPass, was inspired to start the digital commerce solution after witnessing his mother struggle to shop online through a rigorous checkout process that in many cases required her to set up multiple accounts on different platforms.
OurPass enables consumers to shop with one click, thereby reducing abandoned carts and increasing sales for merchants. Shopping Cart abandonment rate, which is about 69.57 per cent on average, has posed a headache for the online retail industry, and there is a projected four trillion loss in the coming year. Improving the browsing and the checkout experience for customers and increasing the perceived level of security are some ways to tackle shopping cart abandonment, which is what OurPass offers. OurPass allows online shoppers to complete purchases faster, easier and safer on any website with the OurPass checkout button integrated.
“OurPass is entirely consumer-facing and invests heavily in its user privacy and data security. We do not act as the merchants’ customers database. We try to inject consumers faster and easier than they ever have, thereby increasing sales. Merchants, on the other hand, simply need to sign up on our web platform, provide their KYC and install the OurPass checkout button so consumers can shop from them in one click,” Eze said.
The Nigeria-based startup has also closed a $1 million pre-seed round to spread its tentacles of impact across the country. The round was led by Tekedia Capital, with participation from angel investors from top Fortune 500 companies, and global financial services firms. The secured investment will support the growth of OurPass’ ambitions to hire great talent and further develop its technology.
In addition, the company acquired Storemia, an e-commerce solutions platform helping to take small businesses online by providing a faster and easier way for business owners to create online stores. The acquisition sets OurPass on the right path to reaching more online small businesses and shoppers in line with their commitment to simplify the online shopping experience.
The company has plans to work with merchants on e-commerce platforms, including WooCommerce, Magento, Squarespace, and Shopify in the future, then social commerce platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
The company’s offerings, alongside its one-click checkout, include free delivery on all orders for customers and 0.8 per cent per transaction capped at N1,000 for merchants or businesses. OurPass claims to have done $500,000 in transaction value and hopes continuous growth will see it become the go-to platform for consumer checkout in Nigeria by 2023.
Written by Agbetiloye Adekunle
