Feature: Small businesses in Kenya embrace free online ad platforms

Sometime back, businessman Gilbert Wandera, who sells computers in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, was a regular advertiser in leading dailies.

Wandera would place his full color adverts at least thrice a week to reach out to potential customers.

"They would run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with pictures of the computers I was selling. Sometimes I would advertise in the main paper and also in the classifieds section."

The adverts made his shop among one of the most-sought as his competitors employed similar tactics. But times have changed. Wandera does not remember the last time he bought space in a newspaper to advertise his products.

"It is a long time, I believe over two years. I had to stop because competition became tough and business went down as consumer tastes started to shift with new gadgets like tablets coming in," he told Xinhua on Saturday.

However, Wandera has not stopped advertising but has embraced a platform that he believes suits his needs. He places his adverts on free online classifieds platforms.

"It is over a year since I started advertising on the online platforms, and I believe it is working for me. First of all, it is cheaper; second, it has a considerable wide reach particularly for our target market; and lastly, the advert stays there for long."

Wandera, who now runs a single computer shop in Nairobi, is among hundreds of small businesspersons in Kenya who have switched from newspaper advertising to free online classifieds as times change.

The businessmen have swarmed the online platforms as many Kenyans turn to them for shopping. Goods advertised include apparels, shoes, electronic gadgets like computers and mobile phones, farm produce like tomatoes and milk, furniture and books.

"I post my adverts at least once every week on four online classified platforms. The ads comprise of photos of laptops and desktop computers, prices they go for, the location of my shop in the city center and phone number," said Wandera.

There are currently about 15 million internet subscribers in the East African nation, with the number of people having access to internet standing at over 23 million, according to the Communication Authority of Kenya.

This is the number that small businesspersons are able to reach when they advertise on the online platforms.

"I get many calls as soon as I place my adverts on the platforms. Some of them have translated to actual sells. The platforms have enabled me reach many people affordable," said Dennis Mosoti, a poultry farmer in Komarock on the east of Nairobi.

Mosoti, however, warned that fraudsters are the main challenge with the online sites. "You reach many potential customers, but the problem is the conmen, some who call and ask you to deliver or send your produce yet they do not want to pay."

Bernard Mwaso of Edell IT Solutions in Nairobi said that small businesses have embraced free online classified ads because the cost of advertising in mainstream media has gone up.

"In my industry, businessmen, including myself, no longer advertise in newspapers or TVs, but you will find us online. Why pay 5,495 U.S. dollars to be advertised on TV only for a few seconds when your ad can run for several days for free elsewhere."

He added the platforms have given small businesses, many that are struggling to survive, a lifeline as mainstream media remains for big advertisers. Endi