Yemisi Izuora
OmniRetail, Africa’s leading B2B e-commerce platform, has successful launched it’s 50th Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) distribution franchise.
The event which brought together Retail value chain stakeholders to celebrate the expansion of the OmniHub franchise network.
The milestone reinforced OmniRetail’s mission of transforming the FMCG distribution landscape across Africa, empowering thousands of retailers, and enhancing product accessibility in underserved communities.
The launching was a resounding success, featuring panel discussions with industry leaders, interactive sessions with OmniHub franchise partners and retailers.
The company highlighted how their expansion to 50 OmniHubs across Nigeria has empowered over 100,000 retailers, providing them with access to a wide variety of products from over 200 leading brands.
OmniHub addresses supply chain disruptions, inflation, and fluctuating consumer behavior by establishing nationwide warehouses, providing real-time data on purchases, and offering credit facilities to retailers.
At the unveiling of its 50th multi-brand FMCG retail hub, the founder and CEO of OmniRetail Technology, Deepankar Rustagi, explained the firm’s support for distributors and its role in cultivating entrepreneurs.
He said the firm equips them to scale to a larger-scale business through the provision of credit in terms of products. OmniHub will continue to support the growth of employment in a time when there are challenges across the country.
“We will cultivate more entrepreneurs from this market, so we will have various business hub owners who are ready to service their areas”, he further said.
The Chief Operating Officer Wale Adisa also emphasized OmniHub’s commitment to solving distribution challenges, especially in remote areas.
“As OmniRetail continues its expansion, the company plans to open an additional 250 OmniHubs by 2025, further enhancing its ‘network of networks’ model. This asset-light strategy remains central to OmniRetail’s vision of empowering local entrepreneurs and boosting economic growth through scalable, technology-driven solutions. So, we are inviting people to partner with us who own a commercial space and want to start their own business in FMCG distribution sector,” said Adisa.
He further explained that they are also providing data to manufacturers on purchases of their goods around the country.
“We believe strongly that there is a huge opportunity in FMCG and retail business, but there are so many roadblocks that prevent this.
“We therefore work with a lot of manufacturers to take their products to the retailer anywhere around the country,” Adisa emphasized.
The COO further explained that their plan of establishing large warehouses nationwide was conceived to solve the challenge of the unavailability of certain products outside of Lagos.
“The further you go away from Lagos, the more difficult it is to have certain products available all the time. So we took on the challenge of solving the problem in a manner that also enables us to build businesses. This entails having warehouses, from where we would be distributing all across the states,” he added.
According to him, OmniHub franchise enables business people who are looking to play in the distribution trade to become partners by providing secured spaces for distribution purposes and earning income monthly.
Adisa also explained that the hub also works with retailers to grow their business, “We are able to provide them with what we call buy now, pay later, which is a credit to grow their business.”
“The development is an innovative way to expand retailers’ businesses, deepen sales, and thrive, especially in this challenging time,” he further stressed.
He believed that there are many retailers who will jump into this innovation to grow their business and assist in checking manufacturers’ stock piles of inventory.
Franchise partners also shared their journey, emphasizing the growth opportunities OmniHub has provided through a decentralized distribution model, with many franchisees now earning significant monthly revenue.
Manufacturers, such as Flour Mills Nigeria, have praised OmniHub’s innovative approach, ensuring product availability and reducing stockouts.
Head of Sales and Distribution, Flour Mills Nigeria, Mr. Sunil Singh, who commended OmniHub Franchise, assured of their continuous support and partnership.