Loads of obstacles are surmounted daily by these associates
in their quest of treating rural natives to online shopping experience. A lot
of effort goes into teaching and exposing these natives to basic internet and
online shopping tips. At times, knowledge
of native language is needed to drive home the point.
After successfully bringing customers onboard the ecommerce
train, next is the challenge of road networks in getting orders delivered at
their various locations. Majority of roads in rural communities are fault traps
for vehicles, hence riders are mostly deployed for easier maneuvering. For the
riders who brave the odds to access the area, they are confronted with yet
another huddle, as they still have to engage in house searching to ensure packages
are delivered at the right place.
Malik Suleiman, a delivery associate for Jumia Nigeria
solves these sort of problems on a daily basis. Malik has been working with the
company for three years most of which he has been deeply involved in taking
ecommerce service experience to rural residents.
“There are some challenges we face while delivering packages
to these rural areas. Two of these challenges include the fact that most of the
roads aren’t motorable. The second is that based on the house numbering system,
we find it kind of difficult delivering packages to some addresses,” he
explained.
Despite the challenges faced daily on these local routes,
this Jumia employee says he’s excited about the inclusion of the rural dwellers
in accessing ecommerce services. “The good side of it is that buying things
online prevents people living in these areas from going all the way to the town
to get these things from the local market. So when I finally deliver these
packages to customers despite the challenges, I see the joy in their eyes and I
feel fulfilled,” the smiling rider said.
It will definitely take more devoted workers like Malik to
bring more rural dwellers into the ecommerce market, but many will agree that
African ecommerce brands are on the path to achieving this with continued
sensitisation, partnerships and logistics investment targeted at local
residents.
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