African diaspora communities often face challenges when trying to purchase authentic African products, such as fabrics, clothing, spices, and art. The options are limited to overpriced African stores in their communities, middlemen reselling on global platforms like Etsy at marked-up prices, or waiting for someone traveling from the continent to bring what they need. However, a new e-commerce platform, GiriToday, is set to change this narrative.

Founded in 2024 by ex-Flutterwave VP Wale Ayantoye and Ola Ajiboye, GiriToday is a marketplace that enables African artisans and entrepreneurs to sell their products directly to international buyers. The platform allows sellers to list and ship products globally while accepting payments through both local and international payment systems.

Ayantoye's journey to founding GiriToday began when he served as Director of Financial Crime Operations at Etsy, where he observed persistent issues that Etsy struggled to solve, particularly for African sellers. Orders could take up to two weeks to reach customers, and middlemen often added significant markups, making African-made products expensive for buyers. GiriToday aims to address these problems by eliminating intermediaries, reducing shipping times, and lowering product costs for international buyers.

On GiriToday, merchants can list their products for free, managing inventory, orders, and customer messages from a single dashboard. The platform allows them to set up customized online storefronts, similar to Shopify. Payments are facilitated by Flutterwave, while CourierPlus handles logistics and shipping. To ensure trust and quality control, GiriToday has implemented a product authentication system to prevent the common "what I ordered vs. what I got" issue.

GiriToday is taking an offline-first approach to merchant acquisition, educating sellers in local markets about scaling internationally, running TV and radio media campaigns, and partnering with local merchant associations to increase adoption. This strategy is expected to help build trust with potential customers.

The platform enters a space where platforms like Etsy and Anka, an Ivorian startup connecting African sellers with global buyers, already operate. However, its business model differs in key ways. Unlike Etsy, which operates as a global marketplace where African sellers often have to navigate complex logistics and payment hurdles on their own, GiriToday provides direct shipping, local payment integration, and authentication centers to ensure quality control before products leave the continent.

GiriToday's competitive edge lies in its ability to deliver products within five days, compared to Etsy's one to three weeks and Anka's seven to fourteen days. The platform's payment processing system, which integrates local and international payment options through Flutterwave, also sets it apart from its competitors.

Ayantoye believes GiriToday could eventually disrupt Etsy's dominance in this niche. "What we are doing is breaking down Etsy's middlemen. If we disrupt their market enough, we can discuss a partnership down the line," he said.

GiriToday operates a multi-revenue model that includes transaction fees on products and shipping, in-app advertisements, and trade financing. The company earns a percentage-based fee on transactions, ensuring that it remains profitable on high-end goods while keeping margins reasonable on lower-priced items.

The trade financing model could be particularly lucrative, as many African merchants struggle with upfront capital for bulk purchases. By providing sellers with access to credit, GiriToday can help them scale their businesses while generating additional revenue.

GiriToday is currently raising a $1.5 million pre-seed round to accelerate merchant acquisition, expand authentication centers, and enhance logistics operations. The company is in discussions with investors and plans to use the funding to scale its product across Nigeria and eventually into other African markets.

In the long term, GiriToday aims to expand its seller base beyond Nigeria, launch multiple authentication and warehousing centers to streamline logistics, and introduce more financial tools to support African entrepreneurs with credit and working capital. With a clear market need and a differentiated approach, GiriToday is positioning itself as a game-changer for African exports—one that could redefine how the world shops for African products.