An interview with 25-year-old Lucas Mutuma, the founder of Calitoz Malitoz. A business that involves honey and other bee products processing, retailing, and wholesaling. The young businessman gets his honey from Thika whose source is Tanzania in its purest form. Mutuma’s long-term goal is to have his beehives. When asked about e-marketplace, this is what he had to say:
“Everyone is going digital.
With e-marketing, you can meet people you would never have met physically. And marketing is hard. It is not easy to convince someone about your product or service. Such a platform (CBWN-KENYA) offers us an established network of trust, and this is what clients are looking to have.
Like people say, they can go to Amazon and buy something and trust Amazon to sell me something authentic. I once bought a pair of scissors on Jumia and was assured they are kitchen scissors complete with a video demonstration of how they could cut even chicken. To this day, I have kept the scissors as a souvenir because they cannot even cut paper. I was very disappointed. Therefore, I had that negative perception that online stuff is fake. So, this is a challenge that online selling must overcome. And I am happy that the e-market is establishing a network of trust among traders and clients.
The platform is a lifesaver. In the times we are living in, a business must adjust and be flexible and also change with time. We must embrace the digital way of doing things. The e-marketplace platform is a business example of how universities are teaching online and have even pushed students to graduate though they completed their studies through online study.
I am grateful the platform is linking us (entrepreneurs) with people outside the country. That is where the market is.”
He further gave a thumbs up to the CBWN-K e-Marketplace onboarding team that came to his aid when he first had a challenge of uploading his certifications.
The Calitoz Malitoz owner concluded by highlighting his hopes of marketing the platform on his social media platforms and pages so that his customers can know of his online presence and ready access to his products. He said that just like a businessperson informs customers of the location of his physical shop, he must make sure his customers know of his online shop or market.