Firm moves to lift small businesses from effects of Covid-19

In a period of reduced economic activity, small businesses have borne the brunt of the pandemic, forcing proprietors in Nairobi who can no longer afford to pay for rent close business.

But in the midst of mounting economic uncertainty, local innovators are fast coming up with solutions to help such businesses weather the harsh conditions as well as building their resilience towards future business shockwaves.

Notify Logistics, a local startup built on the vision of enhancing operational affordability for small businesses has kicked off a campaign to help stall owners along Nairobi’s streets afford space.

The firm’s Chief Executive Waweru Nderitu told the Nation that he came up with The Rent-A-Shelf concept that has been reducing rent for small business owners by over 90 per cent, during the pandemic.  

 “They pay about Sh3,000 for shops that would otherwise cost Sh60,000. The shops also have an attendant and are all licensed and registered. We also have delivery services for customers, which we do on behalf of our clients allowing the business owners to focus on growing their brands while we handle all the logistical aspects of their business,” he says.

Affordable loans

He adds that Notify Logistics is also connecting client to financiers who offer affordable micro-credit loans, ensuring they have working capital to run their businesses without worrying of cash crunch.

“The goal of Notify Marketplace is to be a supporter of dreams by providing small businesses with all they need to grow.”

To help businesses survive the current business situation, the company has created an online portal for auctions, which eventually will see small businesses boosts their sales volumes.

 “The auction will be conducted on September 4, 2020 and I will offer my Mercedes c200 in the online event and most of our vendors will also offer some of their products,” Mr Nderitu reveals.

Dubbed the Charity Auction, a range of electronic gadgets from phones, fridges, microwaves and cookers will be up for grabs and participants in the auction will need to pay one-off fee of Sh100 beforehand to be eligible to place a bid for any item.

The highest bidder when the timer runs out wins the auction regardless of the bid price. The proceeds of the auction will be used to help small businesses recover from the effects of the pandemic.

“We don't charge commissions on sales, we allow the businesses to build a database of their clients as opposed to the current online shops which do not allow sellers to have contact info of their clients,” he explains. The firm also offers businesses an extensive network of shops in Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Mombasa as a drop-off point for their products.

For Rent-A-Shelf, the firm identifies a shop in a prime location in an urban centre and partitions it into shelves. It then hires shop attendants and gets all the necessary licenses for the shop.

After that, it opens it and invites online businesses to rent-a-shelf without necessarily owning the whole shop. It targets small businesses that have an online presence, which it gives a physical outlet where their clients can come and interact with products.

 “We have served over a thousand vendors in our two years of operation with about 20 of them having experienced significant growth to a point of affording their own shops in Nairobi.”

Major hurdles

Mr Nderitu however, says that funding for the project initially faced major hurdles.

 “After about a year, we were growing at a rapid pace and to be able to keep up with the growth we issued preference shares to outside investors and the response was amazing,” he says.

Another challenge the startup is facing is managing hundreds of vendors at a go from inventory management, billing and marketing.

With the future of office spaces inclining towards cloud computing, Mr Nderitu still sees value in physical spaces, saying online customers still need an efficient way to get products