Kasha, an East African E-commerce platform for women by women, has officially launched on Thursday in Nairobi.
The online health and personal care products company first launched three years ago in Rwanda with the ambition to give women access to the products that they need in a confidential, convenient and affordable way. Today, the ambition has expanded to Kenya.
“E-commerce is thriving in East Africa, with over 21 million people accessing mobile financial services hence making it easier for consumers to shop online. However, women, who directly make or influence 80% of consumer purchases remain highly underserved in their access to high quality and genuine products’ said Joanna Bichsel, Co-founder and CEO of Kasha.
According to a report by McKinsey, Africa’s pharmaceutical market is estimated to hit US$65 billion by 2020, with the beauty and personal care market growing at a compound rate of 8.24% between 2014-2019, driven by the rapidly expanding middle class.
Kasha is tapping into this vast opportunity with its diverse product portfolio that include; menstrual care products, bath and body, sexual health contraceptives & HIV self-tests, beauty products and baby products. Due to the nature of their customers’ needs, the online company will be working to deliver purchased items to customer’s destinations within an hour.
“Women are driving the world’s economy. Kasha is a technological solution by women that prides itself in providing the products and resources that women need throughout the phases of their lives. More so we also empower women enterprises. Currently, our category partners who create these unique skin and beauty products are women,” added Ms. Bischel, Kasha CEO and former engineer and Business leader at Microsoft.
Some of the local category partners available at the platform include; Marini Naturals, Zerufi Organics, and Mosara. The firm has also partnered with global brands such as Unilever, Johnson & Johnson and Kim-Fay.
Kasha will accept payments through mobile money, cash payment on delivery or bank card/credit card. Deliveries to customers will be done via motorbikes to ensure convenient and secure deliveries and will partner with delivery agencies to enable them deliver orders to customers across the country.
Kenya’s E-commerce is now estimated at 6 percent of all purchases made in 2017. With about 300 million smartphones, E-commerce has the potential to grow economies and also market local productions.
According to a report by Citibank, Kenya’s E-commerce market could be worth more than Ksh 400 billion in the long term, and between Ksh 70 billion and Ksh 120 billion in the short to medium term, presenting a lucrative revenue opportunity for Fintechs.
Additionally, a report by Harvard Business report indicates that women control about US$20 trillion in annual consumer spending globally. Their total yearly earnings could reach US$18 trillion in the next five years. In aggregate, women represent a growth double the size of China and India combined, creating a large growth market for the online platform.
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