Small retail stores, known as Dukas in Kenya, supply roughly 80 percent of consumer goods and are often run by women or families. These Dukas have been instrumental, not just in eradicating poverty but also in enhancing financial inclusion.
Yet, Dukas face many challenges to efficiency, resulting in lower earnings for their owners. The coming of Covid-19 has hit the majority of Duka owners hard, leading to the majority of them shutting down and rendering millions jobless.
Mostly neglected and forgotten, despite the fact that they play a major role in the economy, there is a need to shift focus on these micro-retailers if we want to fix the economy for the present and the future.
The partnership
In partnership with the elea Foundation for Ethics in Globalization and Citi Foundation, TechnoServe works to increase the profitability of over 1,000 high-potential shops in Nairobi.
The methodology, according to TechnoServe, combines individual in-store consulting, group training, association formation, and innovative digital solutions.
Shop owners are equipped with management skills and business knowledge. They are able to foster business networks, and optimize stores’ financial performance, aesthetics, product offerings, and displays.
The project also explores practical digital solutions that enable Nairobi’s shopkeepers to manage inventory efficiently and make mobile payments.
The Smart Duka Initiative
Smart Duka Initiative funded by Moody’s Foundation continues to empower entrepreneurs in the informal settlements of Nairobi by helping them increase the profitability of their small retail shops.
This phase is training over 1,000 entrepreneurial duka owners (50% women) in Kenya on business and financial management skills. In Nairobi, 60 percent of the population lives in informal settlements, and levels of inequality are high, with negative implications for both security and economic development.
The majority live on less than two dollars a day. The communities living in these areas are characterized by low levels of education and gender inequalities.
Current beneficiaries enrolled in the project are drawn from all communities living in the informal settlements of Nairobi including those with special needs.
The Stakeholders’ Forum
TechnoServe, in partnership with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), is hosting its 4th Virtual Micro Retail Stakeholder Forum on 9th December with the theme Adopting Digital Solutions to Overcome Key Micro-Retail Challenges.