How to start a mini importation Business in Kenya
In this article, you will learn how to start mini importation business in Kenya and other East Africa Countries, the dos and don’t of the business and all it takes for you to be successful in the business.
Before we proceed with the necessary steps to take, we have to understand the concept of importation business and what it entails.
What is Importation?
The importation business is concerned with buying in bulk from other countries of the world, for example, China, Germany, etc and selling them locally in your country of residence. We have now talked about the concept of mini importation, so let’s go into the steps involved in growing this business.
How to Start Mini Importation Business in Kenya
Without mincing words, with 2821.81KES you can make millions monthly if you take the business seriously and apply all the things we shall be discussing on this topic.
First of all, you must have an idea of what is moving currently, be it gadgets, accessories, phones, tablets, etc. It is really the first breakthrough in the business.
What you need to start mini Importation Business in Kenya:
- A Computer or a Smartphone
- Internet access via Mifi, Modems, etc.
- An address that is easily accessible, so the delivery is easy.
- A valid email address.
- Get Paypal account for easy buying
- Open a US account with Payoneer.
- Get some capital for the business. Here, you don’t have to gather much for the business, you can start with any amount.
With the above items, you are good to go. You don’t need physical structure to start it, just your computer or smartphone connected to the internet, you are good to start. The best aspect of this business is that it doesn’t require much work, you order online, make sales online and get your money deposited in your account without stress. It’s very lucrative because you can make lots of earning from it on a monthly basis.
Mini importation is not limited to small scale as the name sounds but it’s based on the capital or the funds you have to start the business. So, if you want to start it, if you have you have the resources, invest in the business and return to thank me later. Mini importation business can give you over 200% profit on a single product sold, isn’t that great? The key is knowing what to do.
How to Source, Buy and make Supply
You must ensure the following:
- Source the Products
- Get from a Reliable Source
- Make Payment for the Products
- Delivery of the Products
- Market Your Product
- Selling your Products
Source the Product: At this point, the first thing to do is to source for the product you want to sell. Not only do you need the product but the best place to source for it. China is the number one place to source for products online. There are dozens of China Supplier websites on the internet that one can make orders and the products on these platforms are very good and reliable. Examples include 1688.com and Aliexpress.com
The Chinese suppliers are reputable when it comes to doing and they don’t compromise, they give the best they have. To get started, you proceed to create an account with them submitting your valid addresses and mail addresses for easy delivery.
Get from a reliable Source: Buying from a reliable source is very important to avoid buying inferior goods. How can I know I’m not buying inferior goods? Yes, there are channels you can use to ensure it doesn’t come. Before you make a purchase of products, you have ensured you have checked for the rating of the products before proceeding to make payments. This simple trick or way can greatly help in the fishing of the bad ones or substandard ones which is not accepted in Kenya.
Another thing to look out for is the guarantees from the manufacturers, this helps a lot in knowing the right products to choose.
Make Payment for the Products: This another crucial part of the importation business. It’s the part monetary transactions are made. It’s crucial because of the increase in fraudsters especially in cyberspace just because of its nature of not requiring physical presence. You must be careful anyways when it gets to this point. How can I make the payment? I know that’s the question you have on your mind. Well, there are many payments for the import transactions; it depends on the suppliers or the company you are making the order from.
Some of them allow Mastercard or Visa card Payments while some payment channels are through Paypal, Alipay, etc.
Delivery of the Products: Delivery of Products could be either free or premium. Let’s explain the two mediums for your better understanding.
Free Shipping is slowed in the delivery time but saves some money anyway. It takes not less than 20 to 30days for the products to get to your destination. This is via China mail service or other services available.
Premium delivery: It takes 3 to 5days for products on this medium to be delivered to your doorsteps. The companies that facilitate the movement from your buying point to your local country may include DHL, FedEx and lots more.
Note: Tracking of products is only made possible in the premium delivery. You can save costs by making orders early so it doesn’t affect you if they bring the products late. With that, you can add the delivery fees to the capital and get more products.
Market Your Product: This is where everything lies, not to import is the issue but the actual marketing of the products. Develop a marketing strategy, be it online or offline, Make people know what you do, Get people to make promotions for you, Referrals can go along way to getting your products sold.
Online Platforms you can market your products are Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. Those are recommended for starter has they have millions of active users or members, these members engage and buy products.
Selling of Products: Once you have finished with the marketing of products on social media platforms, you proceed to the selling of the products. Here, you need some delivery agents for delivery. What to do at this point?
You partner with the delivery agents in the country for onward delivery. Some major delivery agents available are:
- Courier plus
- Kos.ng
- Skynet etc, may or may not require money for the registration.
In conclusion, stick to the guides we have listed above and always remember there is no business without setbacks or challenges, try to manage the business and eliminate setbacks.
