Safaricom launches Masoko and opens it up to foreign vendors

The Kenyan mobile network company, Safaricom, launched its new e-commerce platform on 20 November.

Masoko has been modelled after other retail commerce websites, such as Alibaba and Amazon, and is currently selling 20,000 items from 200 different vendors.

Safaricom has announced plans for its platform to soon be signing international vendors in the first quarter of 2018.

Whilst increasing the numbers of the vendors, Masoko will also be able to offer Kenyans products from abroad.

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“We view this initiative as part of our ongoing initiatives to drive value for our customers. Masoko will form part of the Sh32 billion we are investing on our platform this financial year,” said Joe Ogutu, Director of Strategy at Safaricom.

“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.”

Mosoko will be using the courier service Fargo to enable fast delivery services.

The network company are not the first to launch an e-commerce platform in the area, with competition from Kilimall, OLX, and Jumia – which already has 5,000 vendors on its platform.