In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, I decided to venture into something outside of my field of expertise. I started the NyamaNyama brand (https://instagram.com/nyamanyama_ke/), a meat retail and supplier brand with a unique twist, not like your ordinary neighborhood butchery. I worked with the team at Oakconcepts to develop the brand.
We launched the NyamaNyama Shop in November 2020, and like most brick and mortar businesses, we used pen and paper to manage the butchery. This posed a problem for me as the business was meant to be a source of passive income, but I found myself needing to be at the shop on a daily basis to check daily sales and monitor how my team interacted with customers and gather feedback. This was not sustainable, as I needed to nurture the business for success, especially as a small upcoming venture.
Being experienced in the tech industry, I knew that automated systems were essential to efficiently manage the business, and I set out to find a solution that would solve most of my problems. I conducted research on various tools, but most of them only addressed part of my issues and were not customizable.
To paint a clearer picture, here are some of the challenges I faced and wanted to solve:
- Real-time tracking of sales, broken down by orders.
- Differentiating between sales made in cash or through mobile payment methods likeM-Pesa, as these were the only modes of payment.
- Managing both wholesale and retail prices easily, as we were involved in both types oftransactions.
- I Needed a system to show expenses in real-time, as I had empowered my team tomake decisions even if it cost the business, but wanted to have visibility into theexpenses.
- Tracking waste as a part of our business process.
- Gathering customer data, such as their spending habits, order history, shop visits, andengagement for marketing purposes, either on a one-to-one basis or for all customers.
- Allowing for fractional units in our meat retail quantities, such as 0.3kg, which is commonin this industry.
- A platform that is affordable for a small business.
Despite researching various options, I couldn’t find a system that fully met my requirements, so I took it upon myself to develop a solution that would serve the purpose. It took me about a month to roll out version 1.0.0, and it served us well. I continued to refine and improve the system, and it saved me significant time in managing my business.
Some of our customers and friends noticed our platform and became curious, expressing interest in learning more about it. Two customers, in particular, were interested but did not initially inform me. However, three months after we closed down NyamaNyama in early 2022 to focus on other endeavors, one of our customers contacted me, inquiring about the platform we were using. He had set up a hardware shop downtown and needed a remote sales tracking
system. Although I had put the app on hold, he insisted on a demo, and after seeing it, he was keen to use it. He requested me to set up an account for him and was willing to cover the costs of running the platform. He started using it, and eventually, he introduced three of his friends to the platform, and they shared the costs among themselves.
Earlier this year, another friend of mine, who had also been a customer at NyamaNyama, approached me with a similar inquiry. He wanted to set up a wines and spirits shop that would cater to both retail and wholesale customers. As he worked in Nairobi but his business was located upcountry, he needed a remote sales tracking system that would allow him to monitor sales and manage his inventory from a distance. I showed him the system I had developed for NyamaNyama, and he was impressed. He requested me to set up an account for him, and he started using it in his business.
Since then, I have received positive feedback from both customers who are using the system. They have found it to be user-friendly, efficient, and customizable to their specific needs. The system has helped them track sales, manage inventory, monitor expenses, and gather customer data for marketing purposes. It has also allowed them to have visibility into their businesses even when they are not physically present, saving them time and effort in managing their ventures.
In conclusion, I am excited to announce that we are now opening up the platform for public sign-ups, allowing others to try out the system for free with limited sign-up slots. Due to the overwhelming interest from businesses, we are committed to continuously improving the platform by adding more features and enhancements based on feedback from our valued customers. We are dedicated to providing a user-friendly and efficient solution that caters to the specific needs of businesses in the retail and supply industry. Thank you for your support, and we look forward to serving even more customers in the future with an even more robust and feature-rich system.