Davies Cheruiyot catches up with a boda boda operator, Kung’u along Kiambu road for a chat about the ups and downs of his business.
One of the worst moments for Kung’u is waking up early in the morning on a rainy day.
“When you operate a boda, you have to get used to being cold and wet, not many people realize that it is the small things that can discourage you.”
Kung’u has been operating a boda boda for many years and says it is a mix of the good, the bad, and sometimes the scary.
“One of the interesting things about mobile technology is that it made our business possible. Think about it, without a mobile phone, how would my clients call me? How would I be able to move from one client to another?”
The onset of COVID-19 has been a boom to boda operators such as Kung’u. With many people buying products online and having them delivered to their homes, a new and booming business has emerged.
Technology is great but trust matters too…“Like everything, the delivery business is not just about technology but it is also about trust,” says Kung’u. “Companies such as Jumia offer customers the ability to track their package.”
While tracking your order online helps to mitigate the fact your precious order is in the hands of a stranger, many Kenyans still prefer to use their trusted boda rider to deliver products to them.
“I operate around the Thindigua area and my customers are always calling me to pick up groceries and other things for them. Trust is critical.”
According to Kung’u, technology is great but it does not negate the need for old-school business principles that apply across the business spectrum.
“My clients send money to me and then entrust me to buy various items for them. There is always the temptation to take something, especially on a slow day. But I know if I do that, that is the end of getting any business from that person.”
His advice to SME business people is that technology should never replace that connection that they have with their customers. He says business is a relationship and no technology will ever replace the trust between two people that make it possible for them to do business.
One of the areas that technology from GS1 can help the boda industry is using identification technology to create a database of bad boda operators.This is because the infiltration of the industry by criminals is one of the biggest problems that boda operators face. This is something Kung’u acknowledges.
“There are numerous people in this industry who partner with thieves and other bad people. The public lumps us all as one. Which makes trust hard to build with new clients. Right now, new clients come to me via referrals, if there was a list where the public could select trustworthy boda riders, it would make all the difference.”
Not only would such tracking software help with growing new business but it would help local authorities and boda saccos to offer training services and more to their riders. This in turn would grow as well as formalize the industry.
As a parting shot, Kung’u says that while he doesn’t understand tracking technology, he feels that the formalization of the industry would help him a lot.
“I don’t want us to be held back because the rest of my colleagues are happy with the status quo. We should always be innovating and improving our business.”
There are numerous people in this industry who partner with thieves and other bad people. The public lumps us all as one. Which makes trust hard to build with new clients.”
600,000
Motorcycle Assemblers Association of Kenya (MAAK) figures show there were at least 600,000 commercial motorcycles in Kenya by the end of 2017
SH1,000
On average, most boda boda operators take home about Ksh1,000 per day each