If there is something hard for a new business is enlisting customers; and this is one of the top reasons most new businesses fail within few months of being set up. To help new businesses access customers, Harsh Savalkar who is based in Kisumu County developed an App he calls Taffuta where an SME registers his/her business on the App, uploads pictures of products/services he or she is selling, then once a customer on the App searches for such items, the SME is notified.
“If you are a carpenter or a farmer or small shop keeper regardless of your business size, you will able to register your business on TAFFUTA at no cost and upload photos of your products, interestingly you will be able to get notification every time someone is looking for the same products on the app, which will enable you to reach out to such customers spontaneously and execute business”, Savalkar explained.
The App somehow works like Tinder where people who like each other get matched for dating. Taffuta on the other hand matches customers who seek particular products and services with SMEs who are offering those services, and when the customer and product provider like each other, then business gets done.
Taffuta App which has already attracted over 4000 downloads since its inception create a similar eco-system for both customers and entrepreneurs to network directly and transact business across the country by a click of a button on their Smartphones.
He said app users will find it easy to get any service or product in any town and also be able to see reviews of other customers about the products and get options of choosing from different businesses.
Currently Smartphone penetration in Kenya has grown tenth fold to more than 60 per cent of the population over the past five years and Taffuta App plans to tap into this rising population of Smartphone users to build a robust brand in a bid to stay ahead of competition in the market.