About Ajankara
Ajankara takes its name from Jankara — the open-air markets found across Lagos — sprawling, specific, and built on people who know their neighbourhood. We're building the same thing for a phone screen: a way to find the shop, tradesperson, or service that's actually near you, run by someone who can be held accountable.
Mission & vision
Our mission is to make the shop, tradesperson, or service that's actually closest to you as easy to find and deal with as ordering from a nationwide app — without losing what makes a local market work: real people, real accountability, real proximity.
We started in Lagos's own markets, and we're building toward the same thing for local commerce across Africa: a place where distance is the first filter, not an afterthought.
Proximity first
Ajankara is built around one question: what's near me, right now? Every search, listing, and shop is anchored to a real place, not a nationwide catalogue.
Trust, not anonymity
Sellers go through KYC before they're publicly listed. Buyers can see verified purchases, real review histories, and how a shop actually responds to feedback.
Flexible, not forced
Some purchases make sense in-app with escrow protection. Others — like agreeing a price with a tailor or an electrician — work better as a conversation. Ajankara supports both.
Markets, not just merchants
Co-ops and cross-selling let neighbouring sellers refer buyers to each other, the way a real market works — the fabric seller who points you to the tailor next door.
Ajankara isn't limited to any one city. It works wherever a shop owner has joined the platform and can be reached — the more shops and tradespeople sign up in a neighbourhood, the more useful it gets there. No market-by-market rollout to wait on.