By Fredrick Obura

Local entrepreneurs have launched an online social shopping centre in a strategy aimed at cutting operational costs for startups.

Through the site, www.mzoori.com, Joel Nyarunda, the site’s Lead Demand Activator says entrepreneurs would be able to lease space and sell their wares. This eliminates the budget for a physical office.

The web platform allows subscribers to open accounts through which they can sell their products and services, both online and offline.

An illustration of how companies can build relationships with their customers by creating virtual shopping experience.

Nyarunda says through the platform, customers can order and pay for products directly from vendors.

They can also enquire from the account owner about the product availability through an in-built facility, that supports messaging and feedback on the web and mobile.

"Capital constraints have barred many people from starting their own businesses," says Mogaka Mwencha, co founder mzoori.com. "Our idea eliminates the need to budget for marketing and office space.

He says they have partitioned the website to resemble the normal shopping mall. Slots are leased to businesses to establish specialised shops within the site.

Like marketplace

Just like the physical marketplace, tools like the online chat opens up avenues for one-on-one communication between the seller and buyer to negotiate for best deals.

Mwencha says the site would eliminate the need to budget for shops and branches in different locations.

"What one needs is an Internet-enabled computer or a mobile phone." JBA advertising, a local com pany also launched a similar online shopping cart last year.

The site, www.find.co.ke, offers essential commodities to users. The site’s inventory includes health products, communication gadgets as well as foodstuff.

Subscribers can upload their product or service information, and create an online product or service catalogue and edit the information according to their stock at any given time.

Upon purchasing an item online, the doorstep delivery is made for all clients in the country.

changing lifestyle

In an earlier interview, Information and Communication PS Dr Bitange Ndemo noted that increasing Internet connectivity would see the growth of e-commerce, as people seek more convenient and cost-effective way of doing business.

The growth of e-commerce in the country is largely premised on the fast-changing lifestyle in a world getting shorter on time, a fact the founders of the virtual carts hope to exploit.

Mwencha says www.mzoori.com is both a shopping platform and a lifestyle.

"We appreciate the fact that there are people who will find it more convenient shopping online because of their daily busy schedules," he says.

"Our wider business strategy therefore falls right into their lifestyles and experiences."

There are still concerns, however, about the role of virtual shopping carts in the country. There is of course the question of trust, and verifying the safety of networks before customers can use their credit cards, or even pay before seeing the actual product they are paying for.

The Director of Security Risk Solutions Ltd, Jona Owiti, says the growth of e-commerce in the region calls for the need to create secure systems.

"It is crucial to protect businesses and their owners from predators from both within and outside," he says.

"Without this assurance, entrepreneurs cannot feel certain the information upon which they base their decisions is reliable, and that their networks are secure enough to guarantee confidentiality, which is key to business success," Owiti adds.

He urged for the establishment of harmonised regional standards and regulations for the operation of e-commerce services in the region.