Safaricom’s online portal set to sign up foreign vendors

Safaricom’s e-commerce platform, Masoko, is set to start signing international vendors on its online portal in the first quarter of 2018, enabling local customers to purchase items directly from abroad.

The platform, modelled after retail e-commerce giants Alibaba (Chinese) and Amazon (US), went live yesterday offering more than 20,000 items from 160 vendors.

To buy products, shoppers are required to create an account, provide shipping address and pay via mobile money or make card payments before delivery of the items by Wells Fargo or Sendy, the official Masoko partners.

“We view this initiative as part of our ongoing initiatives to drive value for our customers. Masoko will form part of the Sh32 billion we are investing on our platform this financial year,” said Safaricom Director- Strategy, Joe Ogutu.

Kenya’s e-commerce sector is dominated by brands such as Jumia, Kilimall, OLX, Pigiame among others.

Safaricom is expected to face stiff competition from market leader Jumia, which boasts 5,000 vendors.

Source: Daily Nation