Ukraine-founded Jiji buys Bangladesh’s Bikroy

Online classifieds market is entering a new phase of consolidation after Ukrainian-founded marketplace Jiji acquired Bikroy, Bangladesh’s largest digital listings platform, highlighting growing foreign investor interest in the country’s expanding digital economy.
The deal marks Jiji’s first acquisition outside Africa and comes just 13 months after the Lagos-headquartered company entered the market through its local platform, jiji-bd.com, in March 2025.
Founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs and operating across nine African countries, Jiji serves around 6.5 crore users annually. Financial details of the Bikroy acquisition were not disclosed.
In a social media statement announcing the deal, Jiji co-founder Anton Volianskyi described Bangladesh as the company’s first market beyond Africa and cited Bikroy’s “large and loyal audience” and established product ecosystem as key attractions. 
He said the acquisition was financed through internal funds and shareholder backing.
The move reflects Jiji’s strategy of entering markets organically before pursuing consolidation opportunities. 
In 2019, the company acquired OLX Africa assets in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Tanzania after competing directly in those markets. It later acquired Ghana-based Tonaton in 2022.
The Bikroy acquisition marks the third time in six years that Jiji has moved from challenger to acquirer within the same market. 
“We enter markets organically to validate opportunity, build competitive strength on the ground, and then decide whether scaling organically or through consolidation is the faster route to category leadership,” Volianskyi said in a media interview.
Founded in 2012, Bikroy has remained the leading classifieds platform locally, covering categories such as vehicles, real estate, electronics, jobs and services. 
According to company figures, the platform has recorded more than 10 million app downloads and nearly three million monthly active users.
Following the acquisition, Bikroy will continue operating under its existing brand while gradually integrating Jiji’s technology infrastructure, including recommendation engines, advertising systems and monetisation tools already used across African markets.
Industry analysts said the deal could reshape the country’s fragmented classifieds sector, which has gone through repeated cycles of competition and consolidation amid persistent monetisation challenges.
The market traces its roots to CellBazaar in 2006 before evolving through platforms such as Ekhanei, OLX and Bikroy. 
However, profitability has remained a major challenge due to low digital trust, informal transaction practices and the rapid rise of Facebook-based commerce.
Speaking to Daily Sun, Dhaka-based technology analyst MN Nahid said the sector’s main challenge has never been user demand, but the ability to build scalable and sustainable revenue models.
“Bangladesh has always had strong potential in recommerce and digital classifieds, particularly in smartphones, electronics, vehicles and property,” Nahid said. 
“But monetisation, trust-building and sustaining long-term user engagement remain difficult while informal commerce continues to dominate a large share of transactions.”
He added that Jiji’s experience across African markets could help strengthen verification systems, improve marketplace standards and introduce more structured monetisation practices in the country’s digital commerce ecosystem.
Founded in 2014 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Anton Volianskyi and Volodymyr Mnogolletnyi, Jiji has expanded aggressively through acquisitions, including OLX Africa assets, Cars45 and Tonaton, positioning itself among the largest classifieds operators in emerging markets.