E-commerce for Local businesses

Here is a software that enables businesses to sell online. Mobi Shoppaz is available in android and web app.
The App has the following features
[ul]
[li]Business directory to enable users to locate businesses and their products.[/li][li]Each business has a map on where the physical location is so that the online clients can visit[/li][li]It supports service providers[/li][li]It supports client business subscription so that people subscribed to a business can be notified on new product arrival[/li][li]Ability for users to search for products country wide[/li][/ul]
and way more
Here is a link for the app
Web site https://mobishoppaz.com
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobishoppaz.mobishoppaz
Business website https://mobishoppaz.com/admin-panel/login.php
Business App android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobishoppaz.seller
Give me feedback on what you think @ +254723165900
You can also recommend for businesses to register Thank you.

Awesome idea…
Now hit the ground running, marketing and getting traders to list products…and buyers to find things to sell

Get strategic partners …big brick&mortal retailers to sell on your platform… it may give you the much needed kick…

Advertise,advertise …start with social media

Kuna kulipia ama ni bure?

It is free for three months. Businesses that register will be advertised across all platforms for free

Ndio we ar

Ndio we are at the start of it

It’s good you’re showing initiative, but I’ll give it to you straight.
If you are not backed by big money. Tens of millions of shillings, you are wasting your good time.

Building a website and building a business are two remarkably different things.
Your competitors are Jiji/Olx, Pigiame, Jumia etc. Companies with big budgets, lots of patience and still taking losses.

its a good idea but you will face stiff competition…not from jumia, olx or the others…but from facebook…am sure you have heard of facebook shops…

https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2020/05/20/daily-crunch-facebook-unveils-its-shops-e-commerce-platform/amp/

think one step ahead… think sasa delivery…

So true, i started a business review website like Yelp in 2016, local businesses could open a page, sell and manage customer satisfaction and experience from there. My only serious competitor was a site called yululate.com who had started with a budget of 15million. I had an edge over yululate since i had a solid tech background, and besides, it was started by a non-tech savvy foreigner hoping to cash in on the African budding tech industry, here he is in an interview

But I was so wrong, yululate was the least of my worries, FACEBOOK was! It was then that i discovered the giant Facebook is. I had about 1500 listed local businesses while Facebook had them in the hundreds of thousands, people trusted them more, search engines favoured them more, they are totally free and their rate of innovation is crazy!!

I used to watch yululate my other competitor closely, and in 2017, their social media pages went quiet, the ‘mzungu’ had decided to cut his losses and call it a day, though their website remains up, they are no longer in operation, unable to beat Facebook, and other challenges associated with startups in Kenya! I knew my goose was cooked too, luckily, since i did all the development work myself, i hadn’t invested a crazy amount. I pivoted into something else after a year of working on the project.

My advice to you is; make sure you offer something this multi-national aren’t already offering, something very tailored made to the local market. Otherwise, this big companies are ruthless and you’ll be dead on arrival!

Wow awesome experience you must have gained going up against FB.

With that in mind what do you think of this internet resell biz. Naona quite a few guys wameingia hii biz especially upcountry towns. At the same time kuna akina Safaricom fiber, Zuku, Liquid Telcom’s Hai, na the Google balloons. Will these omena really survive in that sea full of sharks??

Absolutely! Right now is a good time for such an idea if you have the resources. Simply because of the ‘early innovator factor.’ That market is not yet saturated. If you can get there before the big dogs, match their prices and build a loyal customer base, those customers won’t find a reason to shift even when the top guns arrive. Also, craft more packages affordable to the locals, you’ll be surprised by the number of people willing to pay for a 2.5mb/s unlimited. Most of these companies lack that flexibility and you can beat them at their own game!

So all SMEs in this sector are fucked then.

If you follow the Kenyan startup scene you’ll know they’ve been fawked properly. 2012-2016 kenya saw a high number in tech startups, most folded up before you could hear of them. The popular remaining ones like brightermonday, cheki, pigiame, jiji… were bought by Nigerian and South African companies.

Tech startups are capital intensive, and if you decide to let them grow organically, someone with money will copy you and kick you out of business. In Kenya we don’t have Venture Capitalist serious with tech like the US or Europe. We are also a very small population to accommodate enough competition.

Not to say it can’t be done, Tuko news came late to the party and almost beat nation and standard in online news. But boy did they spend money! If you are founding a startup here, make sure you have another job or business bringing in money, then grow it steadily from there.

Who owns Tuko news. These days I see them all over

Last i checked it was owned by a russian who runs a company called Genesis Technology

And, in your judgement, how much does Tuko, kawahatungu or any other make? Monthly or annually?

I second what @Kennedy Maina said. You are competing with big money. How can you beat that? By specializing. Find a niche that you can target as opposed to listing everything. Find a niche and target retailers and whoesalers / distributors in that niche. Become the household name/ go-to -website for that niche. That way you would stand a chance against the big boys and their deep pockets.

Russians. They also own similar news sites in South Africa, Nigeria, Philippines and other countries.
I doubt Tuko is profitable.

Are the Russians attempting to engage in massive fake news in the years to come?

To be honest this is going to be a tough one for you, this market is already flooded with online shops - selling and marketing platforms etc So let me ask, what are you offering that is different from the others?

What is fake news? And why must it come from the Russians…Biased reporting has been perfected by the West. The Russians just expanded it