Online Retailer, Jumia Kenya, Woos Manufacturers with commissions

Local manufacturers are been encouraged to go online, as e-retailer Jumia Kenya announced an extension to its  50% reduction on commissions for locally produced products sold on the platform.

“We are committed to Buy Kenya, Build Kenya – and as such want to do our bit to support local manufacturers. Through the Jumia Local program, we offer them reduced commissions to help them compete with imported goods,” said Jumia Chief Commercial Officer, Kenneth Oyolla, during the Quarterly Vendor meeting held at Jumia’s CBD hub.

“It is through such initiatives that we can grow small and medium industries to be substantial players in the e-commerce industry,” he added.

The company hopes to grow its current vendor base by 30% in 2020 in a move that will contribute to the digitization of the economy and job creation in line with the government’s Big Four Agenda.

Oyolla added saying in doing so it will mean a significant investment in providing scalable training to small & medium size businesses (SMEs).

SMEs are critical to Kenya’s employment sector employing 80% of the working population. They also contributed up to 34% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016. Entrepreneurs and manufacturers who put their products online will tap into Jumia’s growing customer base of 25% of the active internet population in Kenya in a normal month.