Safaricom's Masoko shakes up Kenya's e-commerce space as 300 merchants reach millions

Kenyas telecommunication firm, has finally launched its online platform,Masoko.

Masoko in Swahili means markets, and has already signed 300 merchants who offer a diverse range of products ranging from electronics to food giving direct access to millions of Kenyan customers.

Safaricom strategy director Joseph Ogutu said despite the competition, Kenya’s e-commerce market remains virtually untapped with Safaricom keen to fill in the blanks left by its rivals.

“Masoko hopes to unlock the untapped e-commerce market in Kenya by connecting consumers, merchants and vendors to each other using a powerful online portal,” Mr Ogutu said.

Masoko hopes to give the likes of Kilimall, OLX and Jumia a run of their money and globally compete with the likes of Alibaba and Amazon.

Mr Ogutu said Masoko will look to sign up small vendors in a bid to grow their businesses by providing a countrywide market for their goods.

“By leveraging the strength and reach of our network, our customer base, and a number of partnerships with vendors, we hope to create a solution that can power the next phase of growth for the Kenyan economy,” he said.

Compared to other players, Masoko eliminates the hassle of going to a store while its compatibility with M-PESA means users have an already trusted payment platform to deal with.

Masoko offers a wide Variety of consumer goods with currently over 20,000 different products available.

Safaricom has also partnered with Fargo courier service and other leading logistics companies to make sure deliveries are done within the shortest time possible.

Masoko offers two types of deliveries, Express delivery which operates and delivers within 24 hours and Standard (which takes between (1-3 days) to deliver.