They enrolled 25 local traders whose items were photographed and posted on the platform, including price of individual items and location of the sellers in Kenya.
The move also ignited new orders from China-based traders who had visited Kenya and bought samples of locally-made cosmetics.
Since then, the duo have been aggressively linking up with traders outside the country, while also expanding the range of their product offerings.
Frederick Kirui and Ebrima Fatty first launched Afrikasokoni as a platform to facilitate linkages between local curio products sellers and foreign retail dealers.
They enrolled 25 local traders whose items were photographed and posted on the platform, including price of individual items and location of the sellers in Kenya. This generated sales from Kenyans living in the United States.
The move also ignited new orders from China-based traders who had visited Kenya and bought samples of locally-made cosmetics.
Since then, the duo have been aggressively linking up with traders outside the country, while also expanding the range of their product offerings.
“We visited China with some samples and also received insights on needed certifications for cosmetic products’ entry to China," he says. "The biggest export haul to China occurred recently when we sold coconut oil products worth Sh500,000 and we are currently working on fresh orders worth Sh5 million.”
Leather products such as finished bags, bead-decorated belts as well as leather shoes, t-shirts and jackets have been well-received in China where Afrikasokoni has enrolled two dedicated traders.
The journey of entrepreneurship started in August, 2017 when the duo launched the portal’s pilot after they emerged winners in an IT startup competition held in the United Arab Emirates that saw them given seed capital to actualise their dream.
“We set up a small team of five last year which developed the platform bringing the curio products market online,” he says.
“Upon official launch in January, we increased our team to 11 and has since increased our staff to 25, mainly product scouts and order handlers who monitor the platform 24 hours.”
The duo also injected their own funds into the business that has also established a local marketplace for home appliances imported from foreign manufacturers.
The entrepreneurs say there are massive business opportunities for the youth and are urging the government to play a leading role in cultivating a conducive environment for startups to thrive.
This way, they add, will go a long way in addressing the rampant and deep-seated challenge of unemployment.
“We have sold 350 unique Kenyan-made product packages to the international markets mainly China and USA. Being a start-up, we would appreciate government support in encouraging entrepreneurship. A lot needs to be done like offering start-ups incentives such as tax rebate for the first 12 months or so of operation,” the entrepreneur says.
“Lack of awareness of the potential of online business among Kenyan traders hampers legitimate trade since most businesses have not adopted the use of the internet.” Mr Kirui attended Maseno University for a degree in eco-tourism, hotel and institutional management and later Strathmore University for his MBA.
He says they have since expanded their cosmetic products sale to include three different products sold to manufacturers in China and individual users in America.
Kenya, he notes, has many enterprising youth but the challenge is the lack local venture capitalists “ready to inject ‘patient’ funds” to startups and wait to recoup their investment including interest after a number of years. “Kenyan startups must also utilise funds received from capitalists well to avoid an emerging trend where people divert the funds to other unviable ventures that lock up cash,” he cautions, citing use of the funds to purchase land or luxury vehicles.
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