3AL is a personalized business networking portal where individuals can buy and sell online. Consider it a social network like Facebook with e-commerce capability like eBay. That is why they use the slogan “Make Money, Make Friends”.

E-commerce is one of  the fall outs of the dot-com bubble of the early 90s and this phenomenon has drastically changed the way people live their lives. It has resulted in business models across the world changing in response to the needs and aspirations of today’s consumers.

3AL is essentially a “business and networking site that connects you with friends, colleagues, business corporations and allows you buy and sell with ease.” They have built the monetary element of social media. We think that is vital considering that time is money. If you can spend time on the social media sites and also get commerce going, that will be priceless.

Yet, it is not clear if capitalism will easily meet social-life. Can people open their wallets when they are in Facebook promoting themselves. We hope 3AL will help us understand this convoluted structure. And amalgam of fun and business has never taken off in Africa. Why? They always say that the people that make money rarely enjoy the money because the process of making money distracts from having fun.

3AL which was opened to the public on the 1st of December would be officially launched before the end of the second quarter of 2012. Even though 3AL hasn’t been officially launched, the company has been garnering fantastic compliments from those who have visited the portal on different occasions. The most prominent compliment is the constant improvements and innovations on the site, with additions and improvements on previous features and functionalities on the site.

But this can change – the African online space is rapidly growing with millions online and e-commerce is gradually evolving. Several  e-commerce websites have been launched in Nigeria as internet penetration continues to grow in the country with few of them achieving maximum impact locally or internationally. People essentially think there is a huge potential for online business in Africa.

Our main concern depends largely not on the business model, but the fact that they are operating in Nigeria. It remains to be seen how these companies that continue to build business models on the web can expect to make money in Nigeria and become really big companies. The simple fact is: Nigeria does not do much online because the payment system is still primitive. But anyone that figures it out will see immense opportunities in the nation.

When Visa and MasterCard block payment because it is coming from Nigeria, it creates uncertainly in the eCommerce. Of course, 3AL has seen all that and they seen to be moving forward.  You not worry as the team has a bold plan as stated thus:

3AL is the next big-thing in the e-commerce industry in Nigeria. 3AL is focused on making the world a more convenient place for everyone to do business. Our approach is simple: engage the little things that appear so difficult, break boundaries and provide virtual solutions at your fingertips. Nothing is impossible…”

Maybe we can help them crack the code and open the wallets when pressing that Like button. 3AL is currently working on bringing major business brands onto the portal and intends to encourage online buying by offering products at discounted rates. 3AL is also available on mobile devices, visit www.m.3al.com

More about 3AL

3AL ‘www.3al.com’ is a personalised business networking site that incorporates the functionalities of ‘Social Media’ and ‘E-commerce’. The platform allows businesses to communicate directly with existing and potential clients in a virtual community, post their various products/ services to their market and conclude a sale.

The platform can best be described as a potpourri of Facebook, LinkedIn and eBay as the offering is similar to what one will get from all these three (3) platforms

3AL provides unlimited opportunities for brand identity and expression. To facilitate convenience, the platform has been integrated with a dynamic payment/ settlement solution, and it offers a ‘subscriber to subscriber’ payment module. The payment solution is currently integrated with all switches recognised in Nigeria, which means it accepts all the credit/ debit cards issued in the country. In partnership with a courier company, courier services are also provided, ensuring speed, security, tracking, specialization and swift delivery of items ordered by the customers.

FEATURES OF 3AL

v  Profile Page

Your profile page is more like the CV (curriculum vitae) of your company, giving detailed information of your company at first glance.

v  Activity Page (Home)

This is similar to your ‘Wall’ on social media. Individuals and businesses can use this medium to post their products and services allowing their connections to view on their own activity page. In other words its helps you publish your business on a minute to minute basis, your clients can also comment on your posts allowing interaction.

v  Messages & Chat Engine

This section allows for personalized communication between buyers and sellers. Negotiations can be concluded between both parties before payment is made.

To further enhance real-time communication, we have also include a ‘LIVE CHAT ENGINE’

v  Mart

The essence of our site; individuals can click on a merchant MART or the SITE MART to view products that have been enlisted in the platform. Once a product is clicked the buyer is able to identify the merchant that owns the product

v  My Business/ Businesses

This page provides a list of all the businesses registered on 3AL. interested businesses can optimize their listing on the page such that once a search is done, their business get priority listing.

v  3AL Space(your 3AL web space)

We have provided businesses with the opportunity of creating their website through your 3AL space. The functionalities here help you build and upload details of your business as you would do with your website. With your 3AL space you would not need to have a website

v  Search Engine

Subscribers can search for people, business and products through the various search engines on the site, that way whatever it is you’re looking for can be found with the relative ease.

v  Pictures

This allows you to create albums for different departments of your shop, the album contains pictures of items available in your shop and on your mart. This allows your clients more information on the products that you have or products you intend to buy anywhere in the world.