Koko Networks, a Kenyan-based biofuel technology enterprise, has extended its coverage of other fast-moving consumer goods through a new technology platform for use in distribution centers in low-income neighborhoods.
Coco Club, the new business line, sells its products directly to consumers through Dukas (small shops) and is now the company’s representative for bio ethanol cooking oil and stoves.
Coco Club products on display at representative offices are sold only to registered Coco Club members.
The shopkeepers use the Coco Post system to register customers, hold their biodegradation and provide electronic cards to use when purchasing products from any Coco Club store.
The cards are attached to an e-wallet that is currently used to purchase Coco Bio Fuel and can be charged with mobile money and other technologies.
In addition to providing accurate market analysis, Coco Club delivers products directly from the manufacturers and prevents stock withdrawal in real-time.
35 SKUs Under the portfolio, Coco Club first cuts supply chains from manufacturer to consumer to make the products more competitive.
“We are targeting low-income families with better productivity, lower prices and convenience.”
Coco Club is a technology-enabled retail platform targeting consumers in low-income neighborhoods. Image credits: Coco Networks
Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 80 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s retail trade, is a major supplier of groceries and other items to consumers.
These informal retailers are usually within walking distance and make it convenient for buyers, extending additional credit lines for loyal buyers.
The contribution of these informal traders to the economy cannot be underestimated as it covers the largest trade in the continent’s retail sector.
But these stores are constantly under pressure, such as stocks, revenue fluctuations and lack of adequate funding, which makes them grow.
Coco Club, in particular in the Stoke case – are just a few of the gaps that its representatives are planning to address as they do not need capital.
Informal trading is considered to be one of the strategies to open up credit and improve the capacity of these small retail outlets as well as the lives of small businesses. Saxena and Coco Club trade model manufacturers offer direct access to this market.
“Many of these manufacturers have a host of people who come into the neighborhoods to make sure their products are stored properly and that these stores are stylish. In fact, retailers need to have people there to know what prices they are selling,” he said.
“So we take a lot of care for them; we can now tell them how many products there are and their price tags and all that information.”
The Coco Club idea was conceived in mid-2020, but the startup did not move forward earlier this year, following the success of the 2019 clean, cheap and safe bioetanol fuel business. Coal and firewood alternatives.
Currently, in March of this year, there are more than 300,000 households using cocoa ethanol fuel and stoves (made from cocoa plants in India). These households are staffed by more than 1,000 agents, which are now doubling as Coco Club agents.
In the first half of 2022, Nakuru and Kisumu plan to enter the Coco oil business, which has grown over two years following the recent launch of the Coca-Cola trade off the Kenyan capital Nairobi.