Oral East Africa>BrighterMonday teaches digital start-ups why advertising maters At the hut of the story

Written by Oral East Africa

An online jobs portal BrighterMonday is offering basic digital marketing training to small businesses claiming it helps boost sales between 30 to 50 percent.

Brighter Monday’s the E-Biz Kwa Vijana Program said they have given Small and Medium Businesses new ideas for their online businesses, with 86 per cent achieving their first ever online sale after the training.

The company claims nearly all small businesses which went through their training-95 percent, discovered the key to making online sales was curated advertisement and subsequently after the training were willing to set aside a monthly E-Commerce expense after determining the return on investment.

The firm claims the training helped the small businesses scale up with 28 per cent reporting an increase in the number of employees to help support increased on-line business activities.

"Through the training in digital strategies, I can now develop my own online advertisements and product promotions on social media. Before I joined the e-Biz Kwa Vijana program, I did everything manually including data entry and sourced for customers through direct selling and personal interactions. Now, I am well equipped to position my brand, products and services online, to reach millions of potential customers all over the country”, said Victor Waliaula, a budding entrepreneur and proprietor Jekins Computer Solutions, based in Nairobi.

Scale up sales

According to Waliaula, a university graduate in information and communication technologies his business has since seen a 30 percent rise in revenues and he is not looking back, keen to harness even more training in business strategy and marketing to help grow his business. Lilian Wairimu, Co-Director, Jegos Enterprises, also an E-Biz Kwa Vijana beneficiary explained how she has witnessed a 50 percent rise in sales revenues over the last one year, thanks to having an online presence with a growing customer base on social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok and Facebook

“I happened to enrol in the e-Biz Kwa Vijana program right in the knick of time. Previously, I would just sit in my shop waiting for walk-in customers and relying on corporate or government tenders for opportunities which I admit are very hard to come by because of their many requirements such as huge working capital reserves which in some cases were out of our reach being an MSME”, she said.

2000 SMEs

BrighterMonday Kenya launched the e-Biz Kwa Vijana program in May 2023, a ground-breaking e-commerce development initiative with the goal to train 1,000 MSMEs in E-commerce and digital marketing skills.

After one year the program that also intended to support and on-board 600 MSMEs onto e-commerce platforms, concluded in June 2024 having imparted e-commerce and digital marketing skills to over 2,000 beneficiaries while successfully on-boarding 632 onto online trading platforms.

Funded by USAID through the e-Trade Alliance, E-Biz Kwa Vijana, also covered women entrepreneurs and people with disabilities.

Kenya's potential

According to Michael Mandu, the Acting Secretary for Trade in the State Department for Trade, Kenya has witnessed a steady growth of the E-Commerce in recent years and is currently established as a leader in digital trade within the African continent and globally with combined revenues in the sector projected to grow to USD2,928.00 bn in 2023.

The #eBizKwaVijana project, mission director David Gosney took to the stage to illuminate the immense potential of Kenyan youth in the digital economy. PHOTO @USAIDKenya

With the internet penetration rate currently at above 74 percent, the country finds itself in an ideal environment for e-commerce growth. The growing middle class who make up a greater percentage of E-commerce customers rely on this convenience and speed, allowing them to shop from the comfort of their homes. With market access widely enabled through connectivity many budding entrepreneurs like Victor and Lillian, can now boast of a broader customer base and new markets through E-commerce and which opens up a world of limitless potential for expansion and growth in the local and global economy.