In March 2025, Jiji, a product IT company founded by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Anton Volyanskyy and Vladimir Mnoholyetnyy within the Genesis ecosystem, launched its own jiji-bd.com platform in Bangladesh. At that time, the company publicly called Bikroy its main competitor. Thirteen months later, it bought it.

What exactly was acquired and from whom

Bikroy is Bangladesh's largest classified marketplace, launched in 2012. It was part of the portfolio of Swedish group Saltside Technologies, which raised approximately $65 million from Kinnevik, Hillhouse Capital, and Brummer & Partners over its lifetime. After the deal, Saltside retained only one major asset — the Ikman platform in Sri Lanka: the group sold Tonaton in Ghana to Jiji back in 2022.

The parties did not disclose the deal terms. The Bikroy team — the commercial division, operations, support, sales, marketing, and finance — continues to operate under Jiji Group's local subsidiary.

The logic of acquisition: pressure, then consolidation

"We launched jiji-bd.com to test our model on the ground, build an operational presence, and create real competitive pressure in the market. Within a few months, the dynamics changed significantly, and consolidation became the most effective path for both sides."

Anton Volyanskyy, CEO of Jiji

This is a classic "enter — push — acquire" strategy that Jiji has already refined in Africa: in 2019, the company bought OLX Africa from Naspers, in 2021 — Cars45, in 2022 — Tonaton. Each time, competition came first, followed by a deal.

Why Bangladesh specifically

The market is no accident. According to Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) data cited by Jiji itself, in 2024 79% of Bangladeshi consumers made online purchases, and 47% were ready for digital payments. Out of the country's 170 million population, 131 million use the internet — a demographic profile that Volyanskyy compares to African markets where Jiji already dominates. Bangladesh's e-commerce sector is projected by PCMI to reach $12–13 billion by 2027–2029, with 70% of the population still not covered by online commerce.

The main competitor after the deal is Daraz, owned by Alibaba. A platform with deep local roots and parent company resources. Jiji plans to counter it with a model that has worked in Africa: free listings for sellers, partnerships with telecom companies, and localized services.

Scale: what this deal means for Ukrainian business

Jiji currently operates in nine Sub-Saharan African countries and serves approximately 65 million users annually. Bangladesh is the company's first venture outside Africa. Volyanskyy, however, tempers expectations: "We are not announcing a broad Asian expansion program — each market is evaluated separately," he noted in a comment to TechCabal.

Notably, back in 2021, co-founder Vladimir Mnoholyetnyy spoke of the African classified market as "already large enough." The acquisition of Bikroy suggests either that the African model has exhausted organic growth, or the company has found a way to scale it further without additional risks — by acquiring ready-made infrastructure.

If Jiji can demonstrate market share growth against Daraz in Bangladesh over the next two years — rather than merely consolidating Bikroy's existing audience — the company's Asian strategy will gain real foundation. For now, the deal looks like control of an asset, but not a confirmed victory in a new market.