Nigerian online grocery startup PricePally is venturing into the export market, shipping bi-monthly non-perishable items to cater to the demand from the diaspora community. This move comes as the company's B2B procurement service, which accounted for a quarter of its revenue, shrunk to 10% in 2024 due to the economic turmoil in Nigeria.

Founded in 2019, PricePally built a following among millennials with its bulk-buying deals, enabling users to make group purchases of staples like rice, yam, and tomatoes. In 2021, the company expanded its services to B2B procurement for hotels and restaurants, reaching 25% of revenue by 2023, according to CEO Luther Lawoyin. However, the economic downturn, marked by a sharp naira devaluation and food inflation, led to late payment cycles from its B2B clients, forcing the company to pause its operations in this segment.

Lawoyin acknowledged that late payment cycles are a persistent challenge in B2B e-commerce platforms. The typical two-week payment cycle stretched to three months for some businesses, making it difficult for PricePally to sustain its operations. The company resumed its B2B operations in 2025 as economic conditions improved, but the experience prompted it to explore alternative revenue streams.

The export push is seen as a strategic move to capitalize on the demand from the diaspora community. PricePally's direct-from-farmer sourcing model cuts prices, undercutting competitors in countries with high overheads. Lawoyin believes that African food has a place on the world stage, and PricePally is poised to take it there. The company is also working on a chatbot, April, which will enable in-WhatsApp orders and facilitate budget-based fractional purchases, moving the startup beyond bulk orders to drive growth.

April, set for a 2024 rollout, uses natural language processing to initiate and complete orders. It also introduces "fractional commerce," allowing users to buy fractions of bulk orders they would have bought with a group of users. For instance, a user can buy ₦5,000 of a ₦20,000 rice sack. The bot is also capable of image recognition, converting handwritten lists into digital carts, reducing errors. Eventually, April will automate phone orders for PricePally's growing B2B clients, trimming the costs of running those tasks through human staff.

While challenges persist, Lawoyin is optimistic about the potential of April, which is being refined with YarnGPT, a local language model that trains bots to speak with a Nigerian accent. The CEO ruled out layoffs, stating that staff will be redeployed as the company scales. As PricePally navigates the complexities of the export market and expands its services, it remains committed to its mission of making African food accessible to the global community.

The move into the export market is a significant development for PricePally, and it will be interesting to see how the company fares in this new territory. With its innovative approach to e-commerce and its commitment to promoting African food, PricePally is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for African products globally.