A new company is born in Africa’s e-commerce industry. Named Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM), the firm is to become Africa’s largest classifieds group.

Product of a joint-venture between Ringier Africa, a digital media firm subsidiary of Swiss group Ringier, and One Africa Media (OAM) which has Africa’s largest portfolio of job, travel, car and goods sales ads, ROAM was announced on May 10, 2016.

In South Africa, OAM manages rental leaders, Private Property and SafariNow.

Ringier Africa and OAM have agreed to merge their classified assets. As a result, ROAM, the merger’s product, includes some of Africa’s major sites. These are OAM’s Jobberman, Brighter Monday, Cheki, BuyRent Kenya and Private Property Nigeria and Ringier Africa’s Expat-Dakar, ZoomTanzania and PigiaMe.

Through its African unit, Ringier’s business in Africa counts no less than 10 small ads and e-commerce platforms, in addition to a digital marketing agency, Ringier Digital marketing. The joint-venture with OAM allows Ringier Africa to expand its footprint across Africa where millions of people now purchase goods online.

“The joint focus of ROAM will be to serve its users across Africa with best-in-class marketplace platforms,” said General Manager of Ringier Africa, Leonard Stiegeler. Ringier Africa’s target is to boost its audience in Nigeria, Ghana (West African Anglophone region), Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda (East Africa) and Senegal (West African Francophone region).

In March 2016, Ringier Africa partnered with South Africa firm Silvertee Internet Holdings to create Ringier Africa Deals Group which regroups the biggest e-commerce platforms of Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.

OAM’s CEO and ROAM’s Acting CEO, Justin Clarke said: “We have been looking for the right strategic partner with a similar broad vision for classifieds in Africa and who has a deep understanding of how things work in this complex continent.”

Assongmo Necdem