From Capital FM

With about 10 million people having access to the Internet in Kenya, entrepreneurs are quickly shifting their strategies to tap into this growing market.

Experts term e-commerce in Kenya a ‘mammoth’ that is yet to maximize its full potential.

“We started our operations in August 2010 with zero subscribers; now we have 45,000 subscribers and growing, this shows you the uptake and confidence Kenyans are now having on online shopping,” Ben Maina, the Chief Executive Officer of online trading firm Rupu told Capital FM Business.

Maina said that e-commerce is experiencing rapid growth especially due to the uptake of mobile banking.

“People have realized that it is cheaper to shop online (because) you do not have to get a store and all the nitty-gritty that comes with it, thus products are cheaper, “he explained.
He said that Rupu receive tens of thousands of transactions every day on its online platform and projects a higher growth in the coming days. However Chumo revealed that trust is an issue that they have to face every day/CFM

“We meet new customers every day, they sound skeptical, but later when we have delivered they trust our brand,” Maina revealed.

He however asked the government to make clear policies that will support e-commerce, pointing out that people can use this platform to steal from others which will be bad for business.

“The current Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Draft policy is lacking in many areas and many players agree that certain provisions need to be incorporated to support e-commerce, and a framework provided,” he said.

According to a survey conducted by MasterCard in May 2012, around 71 percent of online shoppers have expressed satisfaction with the overall experience.

According to the survey, most goods and items were cheaper online than when offered for sale offline, with the most popular online products being music downloads, DVDs, CDs, computer software and digital entertainment content.

Read more at Capital FM.