The move by the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to fine and caution French retailer Carrefour over exploitative supplier contracts is a wake-up call that all is not well with the way large companies have been treating SMEs that rely on them for business opportunities.
Often, and we saw this in the cases of troubled Uchumi and the collapsed Nakumatt, small suppliers are forced into agreeing contracts that often involve long waits for payment, and stringent conditions for acceptance of goods which eventually locks many out of these opportunities.
