A few years back if you had items in your household that you no longer had use for, the options one had were either to donate, cram them up in store or if you were lucky you would get someone to buy them at a throw a way price. Businesses did not have it easy either as they had to rely heavily on word of mouth or pay for advertisements, for those with an extra penny to spare. But with OLX buying and selling goods has never been easier.
OLX an online classifieds site owned by Naspers has been in existence in Kenya since 2012 and from the various success stories there is no doubt that it has revolutionized the Kenyan market.
The platform that allows sellers of both used and new items to advertise on the site at no cost has greatly changed how people go about buying and selling goods. This has made the lives of both business owners and consumers a lot more convenient. The platform has also encouraged growth of e-commerce with many Kenyans selling goods from the comfort of their homes, eliminating the expense of setting up shop thus an affordable and viable way of doing business.
OLX provides a one stop shop for consumers allowing them to have variety and easily compare prices of goods before a purchase as opposed to moving from shop to shop which is time-consuming and tiresome. People can now shop while stuck in traffic and have their goods delivered to their house or office on arrival.
The introduction of the agriculture and food category in May this year has seen more farmers record higher profits than before as they get to sell their produce directly to the consumers. For the longest time farmers have had to deal with exploitative middlemen an option that saw their profit margins not match their input or at times have their goods go to waste for lack of market. With the platform, farmers are now assured of ready market and consumers get to enjoy fresh produce at affordable prices.
In light of this OLX is going into partnership with various agrochemical companies to provide subsidized farm inputs such as fertilizers to farmers registered on their platform. This will go a long way in helping the farmers realize even higher profits as they get to save on inputs that are usually the most expensive.
By partnering up with G4S, a courier and security firm, OLX now ensures the safety of users and will possibly help weed out cons, an issue that was threatening to ruin reputation of the platform. G4S will also avail delivery services for users, a move that will see an improvement in efficiency of business through safe and timely delivery of goods.
The real estate category has been instrumental in shaping the real estate market by allowing tenants, home owners as well potential property owners to have access to a variety of options and ease of negotiation. Landlords no longer have to list their rental houses with agents eliminating chances of getting swindled. By dealing directly with property owners, potential owners can negotiate on prices and get the best deals.
SOMA awards sponsored by OLX has seen social media enthusiasts recognized for their efforts in spear heading the use of social media for good and more so particularly in business, with OLX itself owing its success to social media.
OLX is greatly impacting the lives of Kenyans through the various services that they have made possible with their platform and this will help change Kenya as a whole. Partnering with local businesses also shows support for growth and expansion of businesses.
