It is an open secret that ecommerce has grown in Kenya – and other than the usual suspects such as unicorn Jumia, among other well-known and established ecommerce platforms, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of online shops that have made a killing from the internet, and that includes marketing products on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, both of which natively support such businesses with dedicated and powerful tools.
The development of these online shops is nothing new, however, and it would seem that their success is being assessed by the relevant authorities to, according to the Communications Authority of Kenya’s new Director-General Ezra Chiloba, ‘ascertain the size and growth of ecommerce in the country.’
The statement makes reference to the ongoing pandemic, during which businesses were forced to sell their products and services online. The sales have also seen a boom in delivery/courier services to counter movement restrictions as the country attempts to reduce the spread of the killer virus.
The DG further highlights that the National Addressing System (NAS) still needs some work. It has been a while since the CA communicated the launch of NAS. However, the development is yet to be seen.
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The success of ecommerce is pegged on the ease of reaching consumers where they are. That’s why we have enhanced the effort to implement a robust NAS that will greatly transform this frontier – DG Ezra Chiloba.
Of course, the CA and the ICT Ministry, among other stakeholders, have since developed drafts to guide the implementation of NAS, whenever it will get here.
Nevertheless, the wait appears to be nearing the end because the DG says that the frameworks have been ‘incorporated views of a wide range of stakeholders and are now due for the final approval and enactment.’
That is not all; the CA says it is conducting a market study in the postal/courier subsector in order to establish the service access gaps to generally boost service access to Kenyans.
I would like to appeal to the postal and courier fraternity to continue supporting the development of this industry in its endeavour to provide services to the ever-changing needs of consumers, especially in this season of the COVID-19 pandemic – DG Chiloba
