Kenya emerges as key market for global wellness brand

Kenya’s large informal economy and expanding digital marketplace are drawing increased attention from direct-selling company QNET as it moves to strengthen its operations across East and Southern Africa.

The global lifestyle and wellness company has appointed Jared Thwaits as its Regional General Manager for East and Southern Africa, putting Kenya among the markets under his watch as the company seeks to expand its regional footprint.

The move comes as more Kenyans turn to self-employment, small businesses and digital platforms for income and trade.

“Kenya has one of Africa’s most dynamic entrepreneurial populations and a highly developed digital economy. This creates enormous potential, but growth must be accompanied by responsibility, transparency and education,” Thwaits said.

The latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Economic Survey shows that 18.1 million of the 21.6 million people in recorded employment in 2025 were in the informal sector, representing 83.8 per cent of employment. Of the 822,100 new jobs created during the year, 87.2 per cent were generated in the informal sector.

The broader small-business sector is also a major contributor to economic activity. A KNBS survey estimated that micro, small and medium enterprises contributed 33.8 per cent of Kenya’s total output, equivalent to KSh3.37 trillion, based on 2015 data. The survey also estimated that MSMEs employed 14.9 million people.

Kenya’s economy grew by 4.6 per cent in 2025, with wholesale and retail trade expanding by 3.6 per cent and information and communication by 4.8 per cent, according to the latest KNBS Economic Survey.

It is this combination of entrepreneurship, digital commerce and a large informal workforce that QNET sees as an opportunity.

Thwaits will oversee QNET’s strategy and operations across the two regions, with his responsibilities including distributor education, customer experience, compliance and stakeholder engagement.

QNET combines e-commerce with direct selling, allowing customers to purchase its lifestyle and wellness products online, while Independent Distributors can build sales businesses around the products.

The company says it plans to strengthen education and compliance as it expands, a focus that comes as digital platforms increasingly blur the traditional boundaries between formal businesses, independent sellers and informal traders.

Mobile money, social media, online marketplaces and messaging applications such as WhatsApp have made it easier for small businesses to market products, reach customers and receive payments without maintaining conventional physical outlets.

Thwaits said the same technology was changing direct selling.

“A Kenyan entrepreneur can discover a customer through social media, communicate through WhatsApp, receive a digital payment and manage significant parts of their business from a smartphone,” he said.

QNET plans to expand its digital tools and services while exploring the use of data and artificial intelligence to improve customer experience, distributor education and business efficiency.

It also plans to modernise distributor onboarding, training and compliance as part of its wider technology transformation.

The regional appointment is part of a broader restructuring of QNET’s global leadership, with Mattias Mildenborn serving as chief executive officer, Elena Khoo as chief marketing officer, Peter Luk as chief financial officer and Ben Bredenkamp as group chief information officer.

Kuna Senathirajah, Group Managing Director of QI Group, QNET’s parent company, said the changes were aimed at combining direct-selling experience with technology and consumer-focused expertise.

In Kenya, the company says it will focus on digital services, distributor education and compliance, product development and governance.

For Thwaits, however, expansion will ultimately depend on consumer confidence.

“We want to build for the long term in Kenya,” he said.