Konga Vice-President, Retail, Mr. K. Johnson, has disclosed that the e-commerce giant is a business built on the fear of God and uncommon ethics.

He made this known while speaking at the end of the 2019 edition of Unusual Praise, an annual mega religious concert hosted by the Catholic Church of Divine Mercy, Lekki, on Friday, November 29, 2019.

This comes even as Konga expands its growing retail presence with the formal launch, today, of a strategic retail superstore in the bustling city of Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. The store is prominently located on the ever-busy Ikot Ekpene Road by Plaza Roundabout.

Already, anticipation is sky-high for the official unveiling of the store which is set to attract a huge turn-out of guests and prospective shoppers.

Also expected in attendance are representatives of the Akwa Ibom state government, with Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and doyen of the Nigerian ICT sector, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, set to oversee the launch.

Quizzed on why the company always identifies with gospel concerts and other religious activities, Johnson disclosed that it is part of the DNA of the Konga brand.

‘‘Konga is a business built on the fear of God and sound ethical principles. In fact, Konga is like a mustard seed; it is a company founded on public trust. This is why we are always open to partnering with faith-based organisations as well as other life-enriching programmes and activities.

‘‘Importantly, it is also the reason why Konga can never be associated with any form of unscrupulous practices. There is zero tolerance for such at Konga. Today, even if you are a top Management Executive and you are found culpable of having engaged in any form of fraudulent or unprofessional activities, there is no hiding place for you. At Konga, we do business with a conscience,” he disclosed.

Johnson’s submission comes against the background of some less than glorious scrutiny on the credibility of players in the African e-commerce sector. This comes after the travails of Jumia on Wall Street after a highly publicised IPO was busted by US research firm, Citroen, as a ‘fraud’.

Nevertheless, Johnson insists that the foundation of the new Konga was laid differently with zero tolerance and strict corporate governance compliance. Further, he references the track record of the current owners of the business as guiding lights.

‘‘With every company, you need to consider the DNA of the business. The Konga DNA is one of trust, credibility, sound ethical practices and most importantly, our conscience and the fear of God. As humans, mistakes are bound to happen. Even when we make a mistake, we would rather come clean and apologise to the customer, rather than try to lie or obfuscate issues further.

‘‘This tradition is also clear with our merchants who are very essential partners in our task of customer satisfaction. Whenever we find a fake/incorrect product or item on the Konga platform, we have been known to immediately take steps to ensure that the item is retrieved and the genuine/correct item delivered to the customer. Not only that, we also go as far as destroying the item and blacklisting the merchant involved. That is the premium we place on our principles and credibility as a brand. It is a case of zero tolerance. We are not chasing profit at all cost. Konga is here for a long time and should be a model for other emerging technology driven corporates.

‘‘Konga, for instance, will never encourage any form of insider abuse, provide false figures to its stakeholders or countenance a merchant delivering fraudulent numbers. It is simply not in our DNA. We belong to a group that pays monthly corporate tithes,” he remarked.

Asked about its competitors in the highly competitive e-commerce market, Johnson affirmed that Konga has unique differentiating attributes.

“Yes, the e-commerce sector is a very competitive one. However, at Konga, we do not look at or see any competitors. You will agree with me that a company that has its customers’ trust, strongly-held ethics and God on its side, has already distinguished itself. As far as we are concerned, Konga is far out in front as the e-commerce leader in Nigeria,” he concluded.

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