Lagos-headquartered classifieds marketplace Jiji has completed its acquisition of Bikroy, Bangladesh's largest online classifieds platform, marking the company's first deal outside Africa. The transaction occurred thirteen months after Jiji entered the South Asian market as Bikroy's direct competitor.
Anton Volianskyi, Jiji's chief executive officer, declined to disclose the transaction value but confirmed the company financed the deal through internal resources and shareholder support. The acquisition represents Jiji's third competitor buyout in six years, following a deliberate compete-then-buy strategy.
"This is a deliberate strategy, and we are direct about it. In each case, the sequence is the same: enter organically to validate the opportunity, build a competitive position on the ground, and then evaluate whether organic scaling or consolidation gets us to category leadership faster."
Second Saltside Technologies Deal
The Bikroy acquisition marks the second time in four years that Jiji has purchased a marketplace from Sweden-based Saltside Technologies. In 2022, the company acquired Saltside's Ghanaian platform Tonaton after competing in the same market for years.
Saltside Technologies, backed by Kinnevik, Hillhouse Capital, and Brummer & Partners, has raised approximately $65 million across its lifetime. The Swedish group built three operating platforms: Tonaton in Ghana, Bikroy in Bangladesh, and Ikman in Sri Lanka. Jiji now owns two of these platforms.
Strategic Market Entry Approach
Jiji launched in Bangladesh through jiji-bd.com in March 2025, initially positioning itself as a long-term competitor against incumbents Bikroy, Daraz, and Ajkerdeal. The company described the market entry as a calculated test of its operational playbook in South Asia.
Volianskyi explained the strategic rationale behind the rapid acquisition following market entry. The company launched its Bangladesh platform to test operations, build competitive presence, and apply market pressure before evaluating consolidation opportunities.
"We launched jiji-bd.com to test our playbook on the ground in Bangladesh, build operational presence, and put real competitive pressure on the market. Within months, the dynamics had shifted significantly, and consolidation became the most efficient path forward for both sides."
Pattern of Strategic Acquisitions
The Bangladesh deal follows Jiji's established acquisition pattern. In 2019, the company acquired OLX Africa's operations across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania, ending years of direct competition with the Naspers-owned platform. This transaction established Jiji as the continent's dominant classifieds marketplace.
Volianskyi emphasized that the company does not deliberately target Saltside Technologies as a counterparty. Instead, the repeated transactions reflect market dynamics where Saltside built operations in regions that align with Jiji's expansion thesis.
The executive praised Saltside's operational achievements, noting the Swedish company built strong brands in challenging markets. Volianskyi described Tonaton and Bikroy as genuinely strong platforms with established leadership positions in markets known for operational complexity.
This acquisition strategy reflects broader trends in African tech expansion, where successful companies leverage their regional expertise to compete and consolidate in similar emerging markets globally.