Stakeholders Root Unity of E-commerce Enablers in Kenya

The Ministry of ICT, Innovation and Youth Affairs, The Communications Authority of Kenya and The Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) have called for unity of e-commerce enablers in Kenya. The stakeholders spoke during the launch of Twiva social commerce platform on Friday at the Sankara Hotel.

Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Innovation & Youth affairs, Joe Mucheru in a keynote speech at the event asked Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to take advantage of social commerce platforms to promote their brands.

“This innovative model of social commerce facilitates seamless business operations for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, (MSMEs) while creating job opportunities and multip

le streams of income for young people,” stated Mucheru.

KEPSA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Martha Cheruto said the body is determined to help MSMEs access and leverage the vast opportunities brought by e-commerce platforms.

“We are determined to help SMEs leverage on platforms like Twiva to move from offline to online. We are also going to equip the MSMEs to have an impact on their growth and presence online through training,” she said.

Twiva CEO Peter Kironji stated that a significant number of MSMEs in the country lack the capacity and expertise to push their brands online. “Although MSMEs hold more than 70% of the economy, most of them suffer from a lack of affordable, accessible, effective, and digital access to the market,”

Peter added that MSMEs could navigate the challenges of online marketing when they work with influencers in their digital campaigns. “Influencers know how to position products and brands online more than business owners who continue to lack digital marketing skills to navigate these platforms,”.

According to research conducted by KEPSA in 2019 on the adoption of digital platforms in Kenya, 56% of Kenyan MSMEs have not transitioned their operations online. Furthermore, only 10% of MSME are trading online through an e-commerce platform. 37% of businesses are willing to use digital marketing and e-commerce if they had help.

According to the ministry of ICT, the future of Kenyan e-commerce revenue is projected to hit $1.5 billion in 2021.