Jiji, the Lagos-headquartered classifieds marketplace, has acquired Bikroy, Bangladesh’s largest online classifieds platform, just 13 months after entering the South Asian market as its direct competitor.

The deal marks Jiji’s first acquisition outside Africa and signals a continued evolution of its expansion strategy, which relies on entering markets organically, competing aggressively, and then acquiring leading players once a dominant position emerges.

Chief executive officer Anton Volianskyi declined to disclose the transaction value, stating that the acquisition was funded through “internal resources and shareholder support”.

“This is a deliberate strategy, and we are direct about it,” Volianskyi told TechCabal. “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.”

What you need to know 

The Bikroy acquisition is the third time in six years that Jiji has bought a competitor after entering a market, reinforcing a deliberate consolidation strategy that has shaped its growth across emerging markets.

Jiji first deployed this approach in 2019 when it acquired the African operations of OLX Group across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania, ending years of competition with the Naspers-owned platform and significantly expanding its user base.

It repeated the model in 2022 with the acquisition of Tonaton from Sweden-based Saltside Technologies, and has now done so again with Bikroy.

Jiji entered Bangladesh in March 2025, positioning itself against established players including Bikroy, Daraz, and Ajkerdeal.

At the time, the company described the move as a long-term expansion into Asia. However, within just over a year, it has acquired its largest competitor in the market.

“This was a calculated, deliberately phased approach,” Volianskyi said. “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.”

Saltside’s footprint continues to shrink

The transaction also further reduces Saltside Technologies’ presence in global classifieds markets.

The Stockholm-based company, backed by investors including Kinnevik, Hillhouse Capital, and Brummer & Partners, has raised approximately $65 million over its lifetime.

It built three major platforms: Bikroy in Bangladesh, Tonaton in Ghana, and Ikman in Sri Lanka.

With Tonaton already sold to Jiji in 2022 and Bikroy now acquired, Ikman remains Saltside’s primary active asset.

Preserving Bikroy’s brand and local operations

Despite the acquisition, Jiji confirmed that the Bikroy brand will be retained, describing it as central to the investment case due to its strong market recognition.

According to figures provided by Jiji, Bikroy has recorded more than 10 million app downloads since launch in 2012, attracts over three million monthly unique visitors, and supports more than 400,000 monthly buyers and over 100,000 monthly sellers.

The platform reportedly processes over $3 billion in annual gross merchandise value, with high-value categories such as real estate and vehicles accounting for a significant share of activity.

Technology, monetisation and platform changes

Following the acquisition, Bikroy will migrate to Jiji’s underlying technology stack, which is designed for high-volume classifieds marketplaces serving small businesses and professional sellers.

The monetisation model is also changing significantly. Instead of flat listing fees, sellers will now bid for visibility and pay based on user engagement, particularly clicks on listings.

Sellers will be able to set bid limits and daily budgets, creating a performance-based advertising system similar to Jiji’s African markets.

The company also plans to increase marketing investment in Bangladesh to drive higher traffic volumes, which it says will directly benefit sellers using paid visibility tools.

Bikroy’s local teams across commercial, operations, customer support, marketing, and finance will continue operating under a locally incorporated Jiji subsidiary.

A growing global classifieds footprint

Jiji’s expansion into Bangladesh reflects a broader shift in its geographic strategy as it exhausts acquisition opportunities across Africa.

The company had previously indicated limited room for further consolidation within the continent, prompting a pivot toward international markets.

At the group level, Jiji now reports more than 90 million annual users and around $70 billion in annual gross merchandise value, with operations across six core African markets where it claims category leadership.

The company also previously reported over six million active listings worth more than $10 billion, alongside 12 million monthly unique visitors across its platform ecosystem.

Competitive landscape in Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s digital commerce sector is projected to reach between $12 billion and $13 billion by 2027–2029, according to industry estimates from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence.

Internet penetration and digital adoption are also accelerating, with 131 million internet users in a population of roughly 170 million, and nearly half of consumers already comfortable with digital payments.

With Bikroy now under its control, Jiji’s most significant competitor in Bangladesh becomes Daraz, which operates a broader e-commerce ecosystem across multiple Asian markets.

Jiji’s latest move underscores a broader trend of consolidation in digital classifieds, where dominant platforms are increasingly expanding across borders to replicate proven operating models.

The company’s strategy hinges on a simple proposition: enter fast-growing markets, establish operational presence, and consolidate leadership through acquisition once scale is achieved.

Talking Points

It is striking that Jiji continues to refine a “compete-then-acquire” strategy, entering new markets, building scale quickly, and then consolidating leadership through acquisition once competitive dynamics stabilise.

This approach has now moved beyond Africa into South Asia, signalling that African-born digital platforms are beginning to export operational playbooks rather than just expand geographically.

At Techparley, we see this as a significant shift in global marketplace dynamics, where emerging market tech companies are no longer just participants but active shapers of international digital commerce structures.

The acquisition of Bikroy also underscores the growing value of classifieds platforms in high-internet-penetration markets like Bangladesh, where trust, liquidity, and category leadership take years to build but can be rapidly consolidated by scaled operators.

However, the model is not without challenges. Integrating teams, maintaining local brand equity, and sustaining growth while shifting monetisation structures will test execution discipline at scale.

As Jiji expands further into Asia, its ability to replicate this acquisition-led growth model consistently across diverse regulatory and consumer environments will determine whether it becomes a global classifieds powerhouse or remains a strong but regionally concentrated operator.

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