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Kaymu winning hearts of Kenyan online shoppers one click at a time

Momanyi Kaymu

Steve Momanyi, Head of Sellers at Kaymu.co.ke

In just eight months after it was launched, Kaymu has enjoyed double digit growth of website traffic every month, and this without splashing millions in advertising. Steve Momanyi, Head of Sellers at Kaymu.co.ke, says the online platform is poised to take e-commerce in Kenya to the next level.

Kaymu Kenya is one of the entities under the Africa Internet Group (AIG) that include sister companies Jumia, Lamudi, Jovago, EasyTaxi among others. Despite Kaymu’s presence in 16 other African countries (and 34 globally), Momanyi is excited about Kenya’s e-commerce prospects.

“Kenya’s adoption of technology, growing middle class, mobile money and mobile data makes the market ready for take-off in terms of e-commerce,” says Momanyi.

Momanyiadds that Kenyans are fast adapters to technology and are more ready to try out solutions and “this has certainly helped us to convince people to try us out.”

The online shopping platform is keen to differentiate itself from other similar websites by actively following up on transactions, helping sellers with delivery if necessary and ensuring buyers get the best deals.

Momanyi explains Kaymu is operating in a collaborative-competitive environment with sister companies especially Jumia, but adds that Kaymu has no restrictions on who can sell through the platform.

“We have seen a lot of person-to-person transactions and postings by small businesses and this is where our key differentiator lies. We aim to be the leading online marketplace where buyers and sellers meet,” says Momanyi, who adds that clothes have been the fast-moving-product on the platform though other products such as electronics, decorations and fitness items are fast-growing categories.

Interestingly, nearly 70 percent of Kaymu users have been males between the ages of 25-35, although more women are now embracing e-commerce, a fact Momanyi attributes to the convenience men find in e-commerce platforms.

“We were surprised by this, but it is an encouraging trend because we always thought this would be the hardest segment to capture. We also see that buyers usually come back to make a second or third purchase within 14 days of their last purchase, which means that people are enjoying the option of online shopping,” Momanyi explains.

With a 40-strong team, Kaymu (and Jumia) is supported by AIG’s newly created logistics company – AIG Express – to facilitate faster and efficient delivery of products to customers.

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“We are continuously working to improve the user experience on Kaymu to ensure customers get a flawless end to end shopping experience; from listing, buying to delivery. With AIGX, we can now deliver products within three days in major cities in Kenya,” says Momanyi.

Kaymu does not charge sellers or buyers commissions to use the platform, says Momanyi, opting to build an audience and monetize later by charging sellers a small fee to cover listing, handling and marketing costs.

“Once our buyers and sellers have used the Kaymu platform, they are easily hooked because we have fantastic deals and a huge selection of products. We are also a trustworthy alternative to other platforms and we take an interest in the quality of our service,” assures Momanyi.

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