Thread by @pesa_africa

I just had a great discussion on strategy for a small biashara deli in on of Nairobi's estates

Business name: Munchiez

They sell hot dogs 🌭 burgers 🍔 fries 🍟 water, grilled chicken , and wings

Startup thinking for biashara business /thread

Typical nairobi biashara. Small business by Kenyan youth aged 25 -35

They are in a volumes business and are having trouble with traffic

Right now, they are B2C

C are students, young white collar, young biashara peeps /2

They get decent traffic dor now, b/c they under a year old

Lots of campus students around but when school is out deman declines

Unexpected events like a 3 month long Uni strike also affects demand

Monthly income flunctuations too of their customer base

Unpredictable demand 3/

1 CEO handles accounts. Sales. Front office. Orders

1 executive chef Mike

1 sous chef /4

So in mention to the sous chef why he should think backwards

He wants volumes. How can he push more burgers?

He needs to find more people who want burgers

These people could be individuals

Or

They could be groups of individuals /5

So why not approach the church next door, ask them if they'd be interested in a group package for their bi-weekly seminars? Or events?

Maybe a mini package prices at a fixed fee, produced en masse

Water+ burger + fries? /6

Maybe approach a large business around the locale. One that has over 30 employees

Perhaps a package lunch for a thirsty Thursday offer?

Maybe a group voucher for that particular day?

Once a month?

On someone's birthday? /7

Even better if one of the church members is part of a womens group who plan trips for their kids - sunday school or school

A sandwich + water offer for 30 students on a trip to a museum? /8

The group angle was an eye opener for him.

You only need to deal with a treasurer of a group to work out a potential deal

Mike is from local area, grew up here, went to church here

He just realized he has the access to the social network to make it happen /9

Couple of phone calls
Some intros
Whatsapp messages
Send pictures and a custom menu

Close to zero budget with your mobile phone /10

Nothing has to change. His physical biz remains

Only now, during off peak and low biz hours, he's processing batch orders for his new B2Group channel

B2C
B2Group /11

Michael says if he could push out 30 burgers at once, in one order

He can sell at a discount

Vs

Selling individual burgers into an uncertain, unpredictable demand 12/

This is generally tru across the board for all B2C biz

So retailers are happy to sel grains and cereals to a womens chama at a discount if they buy in batch

Wholesalers too could do this
Ecommerce retailers/wholesalers too
/13

For me, part of @Chamapesa means the more groups i onboard on to our app and platform, the more relevance for retailers, wholesalers

In fact

Not just goods, services too like insurance, or lenders, or distributors /14

I call this "group dynamics"

How do we get as many relevant groups as possible, in groups, on a platform (demand) for an infinite number of suppliers - biz, goods, services

Groups of women
Groups of women traders
Groups of family households
Groups of boda boda riders /15

Then match these groups with relevant supplier or fmcg companies or insurance companies or small biz like Michael? /16

Group as the user
Group aggregators

Ive see this happen in the insurance sector in Kenya where

A large corp insurance co. Like Britam provides an insurance product for a chama group in peri-urban Ruiru via Eclof, a CBO aggregator of social savings groups and chamas /17

Solar companies in Kenya do this too

They distribute solar products for rural via small VLSA groups/chamas /18

Equity bank and family bank and musoni MFI and Kiva also pushed financial products to groups via aggregators of directly

/19

Anyway, michael says he'll get back to me with figures on how much discount he can offer for groups.

He's super excited, says i opened his eyes /20

Thank me later.

As @prepaid_africa says

They're young, they have mobile phones, they're on whatsapp and social media

All the infrastructure to leverage his growing business and social network exists both offline and online

/21

This to me are the people and businesses we should be helping with strtegy to grow the pie for everyone

Perhaps these are the true "startups" of nairobi - whatever that means

This is how we spur the economy for everyone /22

Now if you think about Michael's business in the context of biashara and the informal sector

see how big of an impact we can have on the economy as a whole

Michael's supply chain consists of informal sector biashara actors,just like michael, are in trade volumes business /23

There is w boda boda deivery guy
A vegetables vendor
Supermarket
Chicken farmer
Butcher
Pays rent
Accepts cash
Accepts mpesa
Sometimes will hire extra pair of hands /24

/end/dinner