Sokoyetu Technologies

Sokoyetu is an online platform for marketing, sell and delivery of jua kali products. Jua kali sector is a major player in the economy employing close to a half a million artisans. This sector provides cheap and economical alternatives as compared to imported products.They produce a variety of products ranging from kitchen appliances, artefacts to industrial machinery. However, they have limited sales due to poor business structures. With good marketing and efficient delivery system, this sector is destined to register immense growth. We also have taken the initiative to organize workshops for education of artisans on safety, insurance and banking. This will boost the economy creating more job opportunities. As sokoyetu, we plan to ensure there is inclusivity by prioritizing women and people with special needs by giving them incentives when marketing their products. We are hoping to create thousands of jobs, thereby alleviating poverty. 

Through our sokoyetu application, we will be offering fair pricing of the jua kali products hence boosting the artisans income. We will also boost productivity and overall quality as sokoyetu handles the marketing and sales part of the business. With increased sales there will be a demand of more artists as we expand to deliver across the continent and eventually across the globe. This will create more job opprtunities. According to statistics out of 660,204 only 90,377 students managed to attain the minimum university level. The rest about 85% of, them are left hopeless in poverty hence some opt to join the jua kali trade with statistics showing over 800,000 new artists joining every year. Due to poverty, it has been recorded that 50% of pupils fail to make it to secondary.

My solution is to create an online platform for jua kali artisans to market and sell their products. This platform will be an application hosted in both Google play Store, App store and also web-based. This is to make it available to everyone. Those in remote places will also be catered for by our standby agents who will be going door-to-door with our stock list to take their orders which we will organize for delivery. Our delivery system will be simple. We will register personal riders and drivers into our database who through GPS systems will be able to deliver the products directly to the customer from our strategic store. Goods once received and checked the customer can make payments either using wire transfer or mobile money. To maintain quality services, the customer can provide feedback after completion of transactions on quality of product, delivery speed and customer service. 

Our target population is talented unemployed youth who account to 35% of the youth. This is by creating a platform to showcase and sale their artworks at fair prices. Boosting their income in the process and taking a step away from poverty. In Kenya, it has been estimated that jua kali sector gets 840,000 additional artisans every year with the number projected to rise. The state is even planning to certify 12,000,000 artisans. This will earn them recognition and boost their markets across the globe. We engaged some of the artisans through interviews and having them fill questionaires. Mama Evans of rural tabaka area, Kisii county, sells beautiful well-crafted soap stones which she sells in her small shop to passer-bys. Artisans like Mama Evans have very limited market thus sokoyetu comes in to offer such a huge platform to market, sell and deliver their products. The idea that she can even sell around the country let alone the continent really puzzles her but she remains hopeful. Also we will be cutting off brokers who undervalue the products and goes to sell the same at a fortune at the expense of the artisan. 

Biggest threat is lack of market as artisans are located in the informal sectors which are inaccessible. Sokoyetu thus comes in by offering a platform for them to market and sell their products at fair prices to both customers and artisans. Customers can shop a wide variety of products at once and have them delivered. By taking charge on sales and marketing part of business, artisans can specialize in production hence producing more and quality goods. Moreover, we will be conducting various workshops inviting proffesionals inbbanking and insurance to educate the artisans on how to manage their finances accordingly. 

Sokoyetu is an online platform that markets, sell and dilver jua kali products. In some cases we even install and offer after sale services. Our solution is innovative such that we will provide a platform that showcases the wide variety of products offered by artisans. This has been a key challenge as most of the artisans operate in rural and inaccessible informal settlements schemes. Also we will be offering delivery services through our partnership with drivers and riders earning them jobs. They will be required to possess smartphones to enable GPS systems for efficient delivery service thus reducing the gap between the artisans and their customers.  This will also cut off the middlemen who exploit the artisans by undervaluing their products and selling them at a profit. With good market structures, wide variety of offered products and efficient delivery system we will greatly boost the artisans income and create more opportunities. Moreso when the government is planning to certify 12,000,000 artisans in a move that will earn them recognition within the region and across the globe. Our competitors include jiji, retail stores and open air markets.  We have an edge on them as we offer a wide variety of high quality products at fair prices. Moreover,  we also offer delivery of the items saving  customers a lot of time searching for certain products. 

Sokoyetu is a simple E-commerce platform which will be web-based  or available in either Play store or Appstore to ensure maximum market penetration. In addition to our e-commerce platform, we will have agents located in rural areas moving from house to house taking orders with our updated stocklist. This will ensure we reach as many people as possible. Payments will be made electronically either through bank wire or mobile money for easier accountability and safety. Through our platform,  we will also provide delivery services by partnering with private riders and drivers who will be required to possess a smartphone with GPS system configuration. Customers will be shopping and adding their locations to where the delivery is to be made. Once the order is made,  it will notify all the riders close to our store who will then pick up the order and proceed to the store to deliver to the purchased products to customer's tagged location. The customer can optionally provide a feedback through the application once the delivery is done and rate the process to improve in our service delivery. 

Sokoyetu is a new business model using existing technologies. We simply host our e-commerce platform in Appstore or Google Play store or web- based. Our platform will require a database provider who can store our extensive stocklist and still manage to serve many customers. For our delivery system, we will look for maps providers hosts guy like google to facilitate easy delivery of purchased products. We are seeking to develop the two sysytems independently so that the delivery part of the business can include other businesses. This is our vision to enter into the transportation and distribution venture by linking private riders and drivers to customers seeking transportation services. We see this also as a promising venture with the recent completion of the Standard Gauge railway making Nairobi a key logisitic hub in eastern and central africa.

Sokoyetu serves to address unemployment and poverty in Kenya and in Africa. We will provide an online platform where artists can showcase their artwork to their customers. This in addition to sale and delivery of the purchased products will reduce the gap between the artisans and the customers hence an increase in sales at fair prices. Middlemen will be completely cut off from their exploitation nature where they underprice the goods from artisans and sell them at a profit. This will boost the morale of artists with also increased income generated from increased sales due to an efficient marketing and delivery system. Artisans will also focus in productions as we take care of sales and delivery. Due to the recent pandemic this will be of much value as the artisans can comfortably work from home with minimal interactions. These all can be achieved through the development of sokoyetu e-commerce platform. With the help of our field agents,  we will boost our sales and have a good percentage in the market share. In future, sokoyetu can expand to marketing other African products including farm produce and textiles. Our assumptions are that the jua kali artisans and customers will fully understand and operate our applications. Governments across the continent will also certify jua kali artisans to gain recognition globally to boost their sales. To achieve the goal,  we at sokoyetu will conduct serious marketing and really engage the public together with the artisans to understand the revolutionary sokoyetu. We will also ensure the sale of only quality products through our experienced agent receiving the products in the warehouse and also offer value addition services by properly packaging the jua kali products before dispatch. Lastly, we will work with a good team full of professionals to ensure great service delivery. Sokoyetu will eventually act as the link between customers and artisans thereby boosting sales and income for artisans alleviating poverty in the long run. 

1. FULL TIME STAFF

• Operations Team

Jeff Kahi , Bsc,  civil engineering 

Kenneth Mutonyi , Bsc,  medicine and surgery

• Tech Team

Charles Mwangi , Bsc, computer technology

Timothy Diero , Bsc, computer technology

Brian Lusiola , Diploma, Information technology

• Public Relations & Marketing Team

Daisy Cherotich , Bachelors of Corporate Communications and Media

Trevor Angaya , Bachelors of Mass communication 

• Finance & Accounts

Keziah Njuguna , CPA, Bsc, commerce 

Tonny Moga , Bsc, commerce

• Legal Team

Phostine Kageha , Bsc, law 

Pauline Otsyula , Advocate of the high court

2. PART TIME STAFF

• Tech Team

Daudi Muriu, Bsc Business Information Technology 

3. CONTRACTORS

• Safisha Cleaning Services

The key players in this team have unique and diverse experiences in different backgrounds which makes them well suited to deliver on the task at hand. The Legal Team comprises of two menbers; Pauline Otsyula and Phostine Kageha who both have a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and 3 years’ experience in the legal profession. The PR& Marketing Team has two members; Trevor Angaya and Daisy Cherotich both uniquely qualified with experience in the marketing field having worked for different agencies as marketers. They currently are also in their final year pursuing Mass Communication and Corporate Communications Management respectively. Their skills and experience will be fundamental in ensuring that we reach the target audience. Keziah Njuguna and Tonny Moga who will be working in the Finance & Accounts Team both have Bachelor of Commerce degrees with Keziah being a certified public accountant and has 2 years’ experience in the field. The Tech Team which is quite fundamental to ensure smooth day to day tech operations is comprised of 4 members with expertise in the tech industry. They are app developers with skill in Programming Languages, Database Management Systems, Operating Systems, Software Engineering as well as years’ experience in various technological fields. The general administrators who also couple up as operations managers are in a unique position and piece the different diverse teams together as they are the heart and co-founders of the company. Their passion is what sets them apart as well as their experience as administrators in other enterprises.

Sokoyetu is an online platform that's markets, sale and deliver jua kali products. We advocate for inclusivity by providing incentives to women and people with special needs to encourage more of them to venture in this promising trade. Sokoyetu will also ensure the employment of more women to achieve a a 50/50 gender balance. Our innovation will also enable mothers and people with special needs to shop at their comfort and have deliveries made to them improving their quality of lives as they can focus on other matters. 

Sokoyetu creates an online platform where artisans can market, sell and have their artworks delivered directly to customers. This ensures that the artisans have a steady good income that would otherwise will have been lost in the hands of middlemen. Our platform will be hosted in various stores and also we will employ agents in the rural areas where accesibility to smartphones and internet os a challenge who will be moving from door-to-door with updated stocklists. This will guarantee the artisans a huge maketbase improving the sales and earning good income. We will also offer our delivery platform to other businesses thus creating more employment opportunities to riders and drivers earning them good income. This is in the wake of nairobi positioning itself as East Africa's logistic hub with the recent completion of Standard Gauge railway from mombasa to naivasha through Nairobi.

Sokoyetu is an online platform that markets sell and deliver jua kali products. We have a vision of scaling up our operations from Kenya to other African countries hence the need for a stronger system for efficient sustenance for the growing demand. We will also require more human resource to achieve our goal of bridging the gap between the artisans and their customers. This will move swiftly with the delivery business across Africa creating opportunities for more riders and drivers across the continent.