Masoko, the Safaricom-owned e-commerce platform, has plans to expand beyond Kenya to other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by next year (2020). Safaricom has announced this but did not name any countries they will be expanding to. The exact timeline as to when this will happen is a mystery too.
It was only a matter of time before this expansion even though it has not fully conquered the Kenyan market. The Kenyan market is at its infancy stages but is very promising and so is the regional one. Masoko has to expand to the region early and build trust with the buyers even before the market matures and attracts international players.
Safaricom says it is expanding in the region as it expects the number of smartphone users across the region to reach 525 million by the end of next year. If all or most of these smartphone users can access internet services, they might as well do their shopping online and Masoko will be an option for them.
“We see endless possibilities for business beyond borders. We are currently reviewing our e-commerce proposition Masoko to ensure that we are positioned ready to take off. Through the mobile phone, and with its penetration in Kenya at 100 percent, most families have access to at least one mobile phone, making it possible to use these devices as powerful tools for social and economic development.” Sitoyo Lopokoiyit, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom, said.
Masoko has been active in Kenya for a while but it still lags behind Jumia which has been around for longer. The two competitors have a peaceful co-existence but we tend to hear more of Jumia a lot. Even with Safaricom behind it, Masoko is not where I expected them to be, I honestly thought by now they would be the most popular platform in Kenya. The main reason for this might be the fact that Masoko has not been very aggressive with its expansion.
Jumia is a Competitor
With its expansion into the region, Masoko may end up competing with Jumia if it targets the market the latter is in. I doubt this will be the case at first as my guess is that Masoko will expand to the underserved markets whereas Jumia tends to target the bigger African economies. Either way, at some point these two companies will end up competing outside Kenya.
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