Celebrating Entrepreneurship: Albert Biga; pioneering online retail in Ghana

Most entrepreneurs struggle at the beginning to raise capital for new business ventures. Albert Biga is not one of them.

In just two half-an-hour conversations he managed to persuade a pair of heavy-weight Ghanaian ‘angel investors’ to invest “quite substantial sums” in Zoobashop.com, his online retail business.

“One of the guys went to the bathroom while we were having a chat,” Biga explains. “By the time he came out, he asked me: ‘How much money do you want?’ I told him and he wrote me a cheque.”

Biga doesn’t say how “substantial” is substantial, but I’m guessing we’re talking USD 2 million at least.

Personally I fall under Biga’s charismatic spell within thirty minutes of our interview. His voice is melodic and measured, bursting with a confidence and optimism that is almost breath-taking.

He regales me with stories that, at times, have my sides aching from laughter. And he impresses me not just with the success he has already had; but with his deep insights into technology and passion for the customer.

The issue Biga set out to tackle was incredibly simple, but no less brilliant: the inability for Ghanaians to buy products from global websites.

But it soon became clear that for him to persuade customers to advance payment (including shipping and customs duty) before the products are delivered, he first needed to build a brand people could trust.

The result? Zoobashop.com, Ghana’s first proper online retailer.

He points out that most of the existing e-commerce players are on the “market place” side of things - where the technology partner is not involved in the transaction, but simply provides a platform for sellers to list their products for other consumers to buy, like OLX, Tonaton and e-bay.

Biga’s website, by contrast, is a full-service retail shop that exists only online. Over 12,000  products are available from Zoobashop.com’s website for nationwide delivery. Many of the orders are fulfilled from inventory and for most of them, customers get full warranties.

Biga oversees a team of 30 or so working in a purpose-built 18,000ft warehouse on Zooba Road. He has invested heavily in distribution; but because he does not have the huge overheads of main street shopping chains he can offer customers significantly lower prices.

His current challenge, however, is the unwillingness of some of his customers to shop online at all.

After deciding on which products to buy, some confused customers would call and ask for directions on how to actually place the order - despite a simple interface and ordering system.

And although customers have a multitude of electronic payment options available, the majority of customers still prefer to pay cash on delivery.

Biga started work at the age of 18 - at the technology firm SOFT - designing software and learning how to manage projects.  For the first three years, he combined his full-time job with undergraduate study at the University of Ghana – an experience he describes as “the most difficult thing” given his course was mathematics and statistics.

His eight years under the tutelage of SOFT chairman Herman Chinery-Hesse was hugely influential. He admits that many of his traits are “pure Herman Chinery-Hesse”, including his ability to keep focussed in the wake of the many distractions in business life.

From next month, customers in Ghana will finally be able to do what Biga set out to do originally: via the website they will be able to order from any global website for delivery in Ghana and payment in cedis. And by the end of the year, Zoobashop will be available in Gambia, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

As he reflects on the 18 months he has just had, Biga says: “Considering that we’ve had to be very creative in these times when the climate is very unfriendly, when it gets better I don’t think anything or anybody can stop us!” He’s effusive about the support of his adoring wife – Aima – his family and the awesome team working 14-16hour days for the last two years.

When I ask him about competition, particularly from foreign-based companies with deep pockets, he tells me: “I have lived in this region all my life. If some boys from Germany or wherever  can successfully crowd me out of my market, then I may have go to my village and farm!”

I’m almost certain it will be quite a while – if ever – before Biga has to head back to Avee Torkor in the Volta Region. 

[1] The writer is Chairman of Oxford & Beaumont Solicitors and author of Kuenyehia On Entrepreneurship, considered a groundbreaking resource on Ghanaian entrepreneurship. @elikemkuenyehia.