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Women in Trade Information Platforms
Requirements Assessment: Solution Analysis
29 March 2019
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 1
2. CONTEXT ............................................................................................................................. 2
a. Information and Channel Preferences for Categories of WiT ........................................... 2
b. Key Agencies that Generate Business Information for WiT.............................................. 3
c. Previous Findings for Strengthening the Business Information Ecosystem ...................... 5
3. SOLUTION FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................... 7
STRATEGY 1: Direct Intervention - Deploying a New Information Platform with
Channels Relevant To WiT ...................................................................................................12
a. Strategy Considerations ............................................................................................14
b. Stakeholder Comments .............................................................................................14
STRATEGY 2: Improve Information Quality And Relevance To WiT ....................................16
a. Actions to Improve Information Quality and Relevance to WiT ..................................16
b. Potential Intervention Partners ..................................................................................17
c. Strategy Considerations ............................................................................................19
d. Stakeholder Comments .............................................................................................20
STRATEGY 3: Strengthen Inter-Agency Integration Of Information ......................................21
a. Actions to Strengthen Inter-Agency Integration of Information ...................................21
b. Potential Intervention Targets ...................................................................................22
c. Strategy Considerations ............................................................................................25
d. Stakeholder Comments .............................................................................................25
STRATEGY 4: Expand channels for information dissemination to WiT .................................26
a. Actions to Expand Channels that Deliver Information Relevant to WiT ......................26
b. Potential Intervention Targets ...................................................................................26
c. Strategy Considerations ............................................................................................28
d. Stakeholder Comments .............................................................................................28
STRATEGY 5: Improve Capacities and Strategies of WiT to Access the Existing
Information Ecosystem .........................................................................................................29
a. Actions to Improve Capacities for WiT to Access the Information Ecosystem ............30
b. Potential Partners .....................................................................................................30
c. Strategy Considerations ............................................................................................31
d. Stakeholder Comments .............................................................................................32
ANNEX 1 – STAKEHOLDER VALIDATION PARTICIPANTS ....................................................33
ANNEX 2 – AUTHOR CONTACT DETAILS ..............................................................................33
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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In Kenya, women in trade (WiT) comprise a diverse group of business operators with varied and
dynamic business and information needs, and which interact with a varied number of
stakeholders. Understanding the information system –its reach, existing gaps, and challenges –
to service delivery is necessary for building an inclusive and beneficial trade environment for
women. Previous analyses conducted by Sauti identified gaps in information channel
effectiveness from the perspective of WiT. This report completes a 360-degree analysis and
highlights opportunities to strengthen the information system from the perspective of deliverers.
Specifically, it is the objective of this report to:
1. Summarize current resources and processes employed by existing information delivery
services;
2. Provide strategies to strengthen the provision and delivery of relevant information for
WiT;
a. Identify potential intervention targets, partners, and areas of support for TMEA to
strengthen the information ecosystem for WiT.
Five strategies are presented throughout this report:
Direct Intervention:
1. Deploying a new information platform with channels relevant to WiT.
Indirect Interventions:
2. Improve information quality and relevance to WiT
3. Strengthen inter-agency integration of information
4. Expand channels for information dissemination to WiT
5. Improve capacity of WiT to access information
Lastly, this report integrates the discussion and comments of this reports’ stakeholder validation
workshop held on 21st February 2019 in Nairobi.
This report is the final part of a series, which includes a baseline report, a needs assessment,
and a stakeholder analysis, conducted by Sauti in fulfillment of an assignment (WiT Information
Platforms Requirements Assessment) for TMEA.
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2. CONTEXT
a. Information and Channel Preferences for Categories of WiT
Previously conducted baseline and needs analysis reports, which inform this analysis, subdivide
WiT into four subgroups of WiT. Each subgroup and a sample of their information and channel
preferences are presented below:
Subgroups of WiT
Information
Preferences
Channel
Preferences
Women
Cross
Border
Traders
Women traders who source their
wares from one country and sell
in another country within the East
African community. Cross border
traders usually cross several
times weekly between countries
on foot and therefore interact
with customs on regular basis.
● Market Linkages
● Business
Registration
● Financing
Opportunities
● Border Procedures
● Product Quality and
Standards
● Mobile Phone
(SMS/USSD)
● One-on-one
Conversations
● Sensitization
Workshops &
Trade Fairs
Women
Urban
Traders /
SMEs
Women traders that sell their
wares in the urban settings,
usually at stalls or small/informal
shops.
● Financing
Opportunities
● Market Linkages
● Product Quality and
Standards
● Market Prices
● Business
Registration
● Mobile Phone
(SMS/USSD)
● One-on-one
Conversations
● Radio
Women
Producers
Women farmers that are either
involved in crop or livestock
production or both.
● Pest and Disease
Control Measures
● Financing
Opportunities
● Market Linkages
● Post-Harvest
Handling and
Availability
● Mobile Phone
(SMS/USSD)
● Sensitization
Workshops
● Radio
Women
Exporters /
Light
Processors
These are international traders
mostly targeting markets outside
of the EAC including Europe and
the Americas.
● Financing
Opportunities
● Market Linkages
● Taxes and Tariffs
● WhatsApp
● Email
● Business/Trade
Networks
WiT have distinct channel capacities and preferences when accessing business information.
The key takeaways below are excerpted from the baseline report.
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Preferred Information Channels
Key Takeaways
● Mobile phones were overwhelmingly the most preferred channel to receive business
information for CBTs, urban traders, and producers.
o Respondents across all four categories of WiT liked the ease of accessibility
and ease of information sharing through mobile phones.
● Exporters / light processors had dramatically different preferences compared to others
groups of WiT: they indicated preferences for Email, Business/trade networks, and
Whatsapp.
● Face-to-face conversations were the second most preferred channel to receive
business information for CBTs and urban traders and was noted for its advantages in
delivering detailed information.
● Sensitization workshops were the second most preferred information channel for
producers and was noted for detailed information, but producers found them
unavailable when needed, expensive, and lacking in records for later use.
● CBTs, Urban traders, and Producers did not indicate significant preference for the
following channels: WhatsApp and other social media platforms; Printed media; Trade
Fairs; Business/trade networks; Visit to the offices; Email; Webpages.
b. Key Agencies that Generate Business Information for WiT
These following agencies represent the key agencies that generate the information demanded
by WiT. To be sure, the tables below do not include agencies or organizations that source their
information from other agencies/organizations.
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Information
Type
Information Requirements
Information Sources
Market
Linkages
● Potential markets to source / sell goods.
● Prices from different suppliers
● Due diligence on the buyers/sellers
● Secure payment options
● Produce aggregation opportunities
● This information is specific to factors including
location, value chain etc. so many different
actors can provide this information.
Official Agencies:
● MOA
● KenTrade
● County Govs
● NAFIS (MOA)
Civil Society Organizations:
● EATTA
● EAGC - RATIN
● EAWiB (Min EAC)
● JoyWo
● AFIPEK
● KNCCI
● KEPSA
● AWEP
● OWIT
1
Sauti, for example, is not included on this list because its services are disseminating information from the listed
agencies, not generating new information.
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Private Organizations:
● iCow
● M-Farm (X)
● SheTrades
● Soko+ (X)
● Tulaa
Business
Registration
● Details of business registration procedures
● Documentation required to fill out
● List of supporting documentation required
● Fees applicable
● Agencies responsible for the registrations and
locations
● Timelines in the registration process
● Other prerequisites for registration
Official Agencies:
● KRA
● County Gov
Financing
Opportunities
● Loans/credit opportunities
● Table banking
● Cooperative financing
● Investment opportunities
● Terms and conditions for the finances
● Women, Youth and other affirmative funds
from the government
● Technologies available in accessing easy
funds and loans
● Documentation and due-diligence required
Civil Society Organizations:
● EATTA
● JoyWo
Private Organizations:
● Various Banks and
Microfinance institutions
Border
Procedures
● Import/export requirements
● Procedures and rules for carrying goods
across a border
● Required documentation
● List of prohibited/restricted goods
● List of relevant stakeholders/experts
● Fees applicable
Official Agencies:
● MOA
● KRA
● KenTrade
● TIDO (COMESA)
Product
Quality and
Standards
● Rules, guidelines and characteristics relating
to standards for products and services
● Processes and production methods
● Packaging/labelling guidelines
● Quality assurance and inspection
● Certification
● Standards and standard marks applicable to
commodities
● Restricted/Prohibited commodities
Official Agencies:
● KEBS
● MOA
Market Prices
● Wholesale prices and/or retail prices for
goods. Ideally collected daily.
● Commodity price projections
Official Agencies:
● MOA
● NAFIS (MOA)
Civil Society Organizations:
● EAGC – RATIN
Private Organizations:
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● M-Farm (X)
Pest and
Disease
Control
Measures
● Advice on specific processes and measures
that will prevent or control the spread of pests
and diseases for livestock and plant products.
Information should be evidence based and
distributed by experts.
● Information on disease and pest surveillance
● Standard costs of accessing disease control
services
Official Agencies:
● MOA
● County Govs
Civil Society Organizations:
● EAGC - RATIN
● JoyWo
Private Organizations:
● FARMIS (SP)
● iCow
● Tulaa
● AGMARK
● WeFarm
Post-Harvest
Handling and
Availability
● Best practices for post-harvest handling of
products
● Available storage facilities
● Monitoring of harvest levels including
shortfalls and handling of bumper harvests
● Information on post-harvest losses mitigation
Official Agencies:
● MOA
Civil Society Organizations:
● EAGC - RATIN
Taxes and
Tariffs
● Taxes and tariffs applicable to products
● Procedures on how and when to pay taxes
● Conditions for tax exemptions
● Procedures for filing tax returns and applying
for tax refunds
● Procedures on how and when to pay taxes
● Information on certified clearing agents
Official Agencies:
● KRA
● TIDO (COMESA)
c. Previous Findings for Strengthening the Business Information Ecosystem
Previously conducted needs analysis also engaged categories of WiT through focus group
discussions and key informant interviews to identify considerations for an improved information
environment. The following considerations are excerpted from this report.
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Multiple information provision solutions exist, but WiT are not using them
Stakeholder mapping (outlined in a previous report in this series) and focus group discussions
with WiT highlighted the vast number of possible information providers that crowd the
information space. At last count, categories of WiT had, through one channel or another 23
possible information providers that they could access relevant business information from.
Focus group discussions also identified that women were generally aware of the main
sources of information, however several challenges created barriers to effective access.
One of these challenges related to the channels by which this information was provided.
Given the large digital divide for WiT, many women indicated that services that required
internet access, apps, were beyond their technical knowledge and information technology
capacity. Limited smartphone prevalence among CBTs, urban traders, and producers, in
addition to limited digital literacy, provided significant barriers for women to access digital
channels of information.
An additional issue was the quality of information available that addressed WiT’s specific
contexts. Women often indicated that the information they required, specific to the size of
their business, or the specifics of their location was often unavailable from existing sources.
Instead this information was learned through trial and error and doing, and ultimately shared
via conversations with other similar-context practitioners.
Little appetite for another platform
Given the constellation of information platforms already available to WiT, few interviewees
suggested the need for another platform. The challenges stemmed not from the provision of
platforms, but instead from more structural issues related to service delivery such as digital
gaps, information quality, or inaccessible channels. While an additional information platform
would add to an already dense network of information providers, significant value-add lies in
the tailoring of specific information channels to WiT’s accessibility needs. As highlighted by
the analysis in the previous section, complementing existing information service delivery with
a mobile delivery channel for instance has significant potential to enhance WiT’s access to
information.
Traditional non-digital channels hold relevance and potential for WiT
While digital channels have advantages for reach, scale, and delivery, the prevalence of
simple feature phones, and costly access to the internet limit the potential impact of these
channels. At the same time, CBTs, urban traders, and producers indicated secondary
preferences for non-digital channels such as radio and sensitization workshops. Considering
this, these traditional channels have potential to to complement any ICT-based solutions.
Low willingness to pay is a challenge to sustainability
A number of issues suggest that implementing an information platform will face sustainability
challenges. Few traders indicated that they had previously paid for an information service,
and while they generally acknowledged they would pay for information that would improve
their business, it was unclear how they would evaluate the potential of an information
platform. Further, traders indicated that the generally spent between 5 and 8 USD weekly on
accessing all their business information, suggesting a limited budget for information.
Interviewing information providers, Sauti also learned that many commercial enterprises had
limited lifespans and were unable to achieve financial viability. In the few examples that had,
these services had large user bases (typically in agriculture), suggesting a significant network
scale necessary for sustainability. Given these channels, commercial information platform will
likely require innovative business models to achieve sustainability.
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3. SOLUTION FRAMEWORK
This analysis considers business information as a commodity within the framework of a
knowledge economy. This is to say that knowledge ‘assets’ – or business information – is
produced, delivered, and consumed by knowledge ‘consumers’ – or WiT.
2
Much like production
of physical assets, business information follows a similar pattern of consumption, outlined in the
figure below:
Unlike physical assets, however, information’s consumption does not preclude others from
consuming the same information. In economic terms, once a knowledge asset is produced, it is
non-rivalrous. The information technology revolution, combined with the low access costs to
internet, have spurred hopes that developing economies will be able to benefit from information
as a publicly provided good. Similarly, minimizing information asymmetry – where certain
economic actors have more information than others – is well-accepted to benefit economic
welfare on the whole.
3
In Kenya, a number of official agencies freely provide business information as a public good:
KEBS, MOA, KRA, KenTrade, for example, provide pest and disease control measures,
export/import procedures, market prices, information on product quality standards etc in one
form or another.
Official agencies are not the only source of business information available to WiT. Private and
social enterprises have also emerged to fill the information demands of WiT, both as generators
and disseminators of such information; often generating their own privatized information assets,
such as market prices or premium crop/animal business advice.
4
Despite the rich network of organizations generating business information relevant to WiT,
Sauti’s baseline and needs analysis identified significant gaps in traders’ capacities to access
and thereby consume this information. Despite official and private production of business
information, WiT experienced distinct shortfalls in the methods in which this information was
delivered to them.
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2
Boisot, Max H. Knowledge Assets: Securing Competitive Advantage in the Information Economy. OUP Oxford,
1998.
3
Akerlof, George A. “The Market for ‘Lemons’: Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism.” The Quarterly
Journal of Economics 84, no. 3 (August 1, 1970): 488–500.
4
A full description of stakeholder services and channels is presented in the stakeholder analysis.
5
These challenges to information delivery were identified to be related to the oft-ignored gendered ancillary private
costs that put this information out of reach for women in trade in Kenya. Some of these prohibitive ancillary costs for
women in trade include but are not limited to Costs to access to the internet; Cost of smartphone; Cost of airtime;
Information
Generation
Information
Dissemination
Information
Consumption
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To organize and guide analysis, a solution framework is generated which targets the processes
that comprise the information ecosystem. Specifically, the primary processes of focus are:
● Agencies’ production of business information related to WiT; and
● Agencies’ capacities to deliver relevant information to WiT
The diagram below provides a simplified diagram of the system for information generation and
dissemination to WiT, including key stakeholders, the strength and relevance of information
flows, and potential interventions and support by TMEA (in red).
We present five intervention strategies for improving these processes.
Direct Intervention:
1. Deploying a new information platform with channels relevant to WiT.
Indirect Interventions:
2. Improve information quality and relevance to WiT
3. Strengthen inter-agency integration of information
Time costs; Necessary digital literacy; and Necessary language literacy. A full description of costs affecting women in
trade is presented in the needs assessment and baseline analysis.
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4. Expand channels for information dissemination to WiT
5. Improve capacity of WiT to access information
Lastly, while this report applies this solution framework to each of the distinct subsamples of
WiT, it is acknowledged that strengthening the information network for a particular subgroup is
likely to have spillover benefits for other subgroups. As such, each strategy presents
intervention targets for the aggregate (all WiT groups) as well as for each category of WiT.
These strategies were validated with key stakeholders in a validation workshop on 21st February
2019. Over 40 participants attended the workshop, including: AFIPEK, AWEP, AGMARK,
AWAN, EACSOF, EAGC, EAWiBP, FPEAK, Joyful Women, KAM, KAWBO, KEBS, KenTrade,
KEPSA, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Gender, M-Shamba. Each strategy was presented to
the stakeholders in a general presentation format as well as in individual roundtable discussions
for each strategy. The following strategy sections integrate these comments into the discussion.
Stakeholders discuss the proposed intervention strategies at our stakeholder validation
workshop on 21st February 2019 in Nairobi.
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Summaries of each intervention strategy are presented here before going into detail in
the following sections:
Strategy 1 Summary: Deploy an information channel which utilizes the information channels
relevant to WiT
Expected Outcomes: Self-sustaining, accessible, end-to-end information platform
Action Points for TMEA:
• Implement Relationships with Information Providers
• Collect and Centralize Relevant Business Information
• Organize and Tailor Information for the Platform
• Continued Channel/Technical Maintenance
• Sustained Audience Awareness Campaigns for the Platform
Strategy Considerations:
• Significant Financial Requirements Beyond Initial Deployment
• Existing Models of Success within the Same Information Ecosystem
• Different Requirements Among Subgroups of WiT
Strategy 2 Summary: Strengthen the capacities of the agencies that generate information relevant
to WiT
Expected Outcomes: More information available to WiT, in form and quality that is specifically
relevant to their business behavior.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Facilitate Providers Efforts to Tailor Existing Information Content for WiT
• Support Improvements to Information Quality Specifically Relevant to WiT
Strategy Considerations:
• Ease of Enhancements to Existing Information Generation Processes
• Recommendation for a Complementary Strategy
Strategy 3 Summary: Strengthen the inter-agency integration of information between information
generators and disseminators
Expected Outcomes: More information available to WiT, in form and quality that is specifically
relevant to their business behavior.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Integrate Successful Deliverers and Successful Information Providers
• Coordinate Inter-Agency Integration of Information and Channels
• Facilitate Information/Data Sharing Standards
Strategy Considerations:
• Agencies have Overlapping Mandates and/or Intended Audiences
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Strategy 4 Summary: Build on existing capacities of relevant information providers by adding
additional channels for WiT to access business information.
Expected Outcomes: Additional channels with which information providers can disseminate
information.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Support the Implementation of Agencies’ Additional Information Channels
• Facilitate Providers Efforts to Tailor Existing Information Content for WiT
Strategy Considerations:
• Existing Foundations for Enhancing Channel Capacities
Strategy 5 Summary: WiT often lack the necessary capacities and face barriers to access existing
information channels. This strategy specifically targets these capacities of WiT and builds on them to
allow WiT to access more advanced and ubiquitous information channels.
Expected Outcomes: Additional capacities for WiT to overcome traditional barriers to accessing
information, leading to increased use of existing channels.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Conduct Workshops that Prioritize Low-Technology Business Information
• Conduct Digital Literacy Training Workshops
Strategy Considerations:
• Recommendation for Complementary Strategy to Improve Provision of Tailored Information
to WiT
• System-wide Challenges to Scale and Sustainability
STRATEGY 1: DIRECT INTERVENTION - DEPLOYING A NEW INFORMATION
PLATFORM WITH CHANNELS RELEVANT TO WIT
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STRATEGY 1: DIRECT INTERVENTION - DEPLOYING A NEW
INFORMATION PLATFORM WITH CHANNELS RELEVANT TO
WIT
Strategy 1 Summary: Deploy an information channel which utilizes the information channels
relevant to WiT
Expected Outcomes: Self-sustaining, accessible, end-to-end information platform
Action Points for TMEA:
• Implement Relationships with Information Providers
• Collect and Centralize Relevant Business Information
• Organize and Tailor Information for the Platform
• Continued Channel/Technical Maintenance
• Sustained Audience Awareness Campaigns for the Platform
Strategy Considerations:
• Significant Financial Requirements Beyond Initial Deployment
• Existing Models of Success within the Same Information Ecosystem
• Different Requirements Among Subgroups of WiT
Strategy 1 involves deploying an integrated end-to-end solution to provide an information
platform custom to WiT. Through key informant Interviews with stakeholders that have
established similar platforms, this report identifies five distinct processes necessary for
deploying and sustaining a successful information platform for WiT. Establishing the following
processes represent distinct action points for implementing this strategy:
Information
Platform for
WiT
Collect and
Centralize
Information
Simplify,
Translate, and
Tailor
Information
Channel/
Platform
Technical
Maintenance
Audience
Awareness of
Platform
Relationships
with
Information
Providors
STRATEGY 1: DIRECT INTERVENTION - DEPLOYING A NEW INFORMATION
PLATFORM WITH CHANNELS RELEVANT TO WIT
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Implement Relationships with Information Providers: Pursuing this type of intervention
would require strong relationships and agreements with existing information providers in order
to access and disseminate their information. In the case of public institutions’ business
information (such as registration requirements), previous implementers have found government
agencies willing to cooperate. However, certain types of information demanded by WiT, for
example market prices or market linkages, are often propriety, require fees to access, and carry
restrictions for redistribution to additional clients. Potential partners from which information could
be most ideally sourced and are relevant to WiT are described in Strategy 1c.
• Areas for TMEA Support: Facilitate relationships with public agencies; financial
assistance to access and redistribute propriety business information.
Collect and Centralize Relevant Business Information: A staff apparatus is required to
ensure that relevant business information is collected and centralized. Certain information types
also have unpublished or hard-to-find sources of information. This can be for a number of
reasons: local variations to information (such as with border procedures), rapidly changing data
(such as with market linkages and market prices), or poor application to MSMEs (such as with
financing opportunities). As such, staff processes need to be in place which constantly verifies,
and updates business information collected from agencies. In many types of business
information types, this can require fieldwork to confirm local contextual business information.
• Areas for TMEA Support: Support for requisite personnel (likely an operations manager
with a staff of field workers).
Organize and Tailor Information for the Platform: Collected business information also needs
to be organized and tailored specifically for WiT. In the case of women cross-border traders,
urban traders, and producers, these groups of WiT indicated that information consumption
would benefit significantly from simplification, and translation into local languages. Additionally,
a concern expressed by WiT in focus group discussions was the concept of information
overload; where information sources often provided too much business information for every
business case, burying the information that was applicable to WiT. To address this, a staff
member needs to focus on information organization and tailoring for applicability towards the
business behavior of WiT.
• Areas for TMEA Support: Support for requisite personnel (likely an analyst specializing
in WiT).
Continued Channel/Technical Maintenance: A successful information platform geared
towards WiT needs to integrate channels which deliver the collected information according to
channels accessible by WiT. For this, it is recommended to engage existing successful
information deliverers as a model for this platform. These information deliverers are described in
Strategy 2c. Stakeholder KIIs also indicate that a full-time staff member is required to maintain
the channels necessary for WiT. In addition to facilitating the dissemination of information, these
staff are also necessary for to maintain the information database and IT processes which
facilitate the collection of new business information into that database.
• Areas for TMEA Support: Support for requisite personnel (likely with technical skills,
dependent on the channels added).
STRATEGY 1: DIRECT INTERVENTION - DEPLOYING A NEW INFORMATION
PLATFORM WITH CHANNELS RELEVANT TO WIT
14
Sustained Audience Awareness Campaigns for the Platform: Baseline surveys with WiT
suggest that a significant obstacle to accessing business information is often lack of knowledge
about which channels are available to them. As such, a process is necessary to focus on
audience awareness of the platform among WiT. Further, informant interviews with information
providers suggests that passively providing information is not enough to achieve market
awareness and continual ‘pushing’ efforts must be taken to engage WiT. Whether this is
provided by a staff member or built into the platform itself (for instance, SMS engagement
initiated by the platform), the challenge of increasing awareness of an information platform to
WiT in an ‘information-poor’ environment needs to be actively mitigated.
• Areas for TMEA Support: Support for requisite personnel (likely community engagement
officers); sustained workshops with WiT to build awareness of the platform.
a. Strategy Considerations
Significant Financial Requirements Beyond Initial Deployment: In addition to the capital
investment required to design and initially deploy an information platform for WiT, the processes
which have been identified that are requisite to sustaining the platform also require significant
financial commitments. Most of these costs are related to the overhead necessary to upkeep a
well-functioning and continually relevant platform, however recurring technical costs are also
identified with certain channels, whether they be the costs of SMS or the cost of USSD
shortcodes. Additionally, audience awareness must be a sustained effort for maximal reach
across Kenya, which is also likely to add further costs. As such, either a long-term concessional
grant relationship must be implemented to sustain an information platform, or an innovative
business model is required to mitigate these threats to sustainability.
Existing Models of Success within the Same Information Ecosystem: Initiatives to create
brand-new information platforms for WiT rather than strengthen existing models may be a
duplication of resources, as well as missed opportunity to leverage established local networks
and assets. Several existing information platforms are already operating to service the
information needs of different WiT across Kenya. These platforms have proven track records of
success in producing and delivering information for WiT. They have developed notable brand
recognition, fostered confidence among users, and coordinate essential linkages across
Kenya’s business information ecosystem. Therefore, due consideration should be given to
existing information platforms to ensure efficient use of ecosystem resources.
Different Requirements Among Subgroups of WiT: Potential information solutions should
avoid a one-size-fits-all approach to designing a platform for WiT. Different subgroups of WiT
have distinct information requirements which impact the types of content and channels that are
most likely to be relevant. For example, exporters with relatively more advanced capacities
prefer more sophisticated channels, such as email. As a result, a clear understanding of the
target audience should be integrated into early considerations of information platform design.
b. Stakeholder Comments
• Significant technical capacity will be required.
• Partnerships and linking groups with mutual objectives will be necessary to drive
marketing and traffic.
STRATEGY 1: DIRECT INTERVENTION - DEPLOYING A NEW INFORMATION
PLATFORM WITH CHANNELS RELEVANT TO WIT
15
• Existing private partners’ systems are ready to integrate with official agencies with
APIs.
• Official agencies will require resourcing to simplify and obtain privately sourced
information
• Linking effective platforms that already exist is a potential avenue for minimizing
costs
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO WIT
16
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND
RELEVANCE TO WIT
Strategy 2 Summary: Strengthen the capacities of the agencies that generate information
relevant to WiT
Expected Outcomes: More information available to WiT, in form and quality that is specifically
relevant to their business behavior.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Facilitate Providers Efforts to Tailor Existing Information Content for WiT
• Support Improvements to Information Quality Specifically Relevant to WiT
Strategy Considerations:
• Ease of Enhancements to Existing Information Generation Processes
• Recommendation for a Complementary Strategy
a. Actions to Improve Information Quality and Relevance to WiT
Facilitate Providers Efforts to Tailor Existing Information Content for WiT: While
information is available on topics that WiT demand, the information is often not in an easily
accessible and understandable form. One of the major barriers to information accessibility is
language comprehension, such as when information is only available in an unfamiliar language,
uses complex technical terms, or is not targeted to the needs of specific groups. While
exporters, for example, were typically comfortable with English language sources, other
categories of WiT preferred Swahili. An example of this challenge was identified in some
platform’s use of the term “manufactured good.”
6
In addition to language barriers, the target
audience of many official agencies’ information is aimed at large scale enterprises. For small
and micro enterprises, which also require this type of information, they found navigability
difficult, or the information was absent altogether. Supporting initiatives to retool and tailoring
information sources’ content can make it easier for traders to access, navigate, and ultimately
beneficially employ this information in their business.
Support Improvements to Information Quality Specifically Relevant to WiT: Additional
opportunities exist in the generation of relevant, tailored and up-to-date information for WiT.
While large-scale businesses insulate themselves from capital risks by stockpiling goods in
inventories, many WiT operate with just-in-time inventory standards, whereby they buy goods
according to the orders they have (or can immediately expect). As such, many WiT require up-
to-date information to manage risks from unforeseen obstacles (such as new tariffs or sudden
market shifts for example). Information sources could better facilitate women in trade with
improved information processes. Initiatives, which support information sources to more
frequently update their information or support information directly relevant to WiT, can better
facilitate WiT’s distinct business strategies. Additionally, the insights gathered as part of this
research should be shared with relevant actors generating such information. For example, the
6
Determining whether a good is manufactured or agricultural has important tariff implications for cross-border trade
procedures, for example.
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO WIT
17
specific information types that are most important to the daily business activities of WiT are not
well-known among agencies providing information that is relevant to WiT.
b. Potential Intervention Partners
The following partners have been identified according to the number of types of information they
provide to all WiT across the board. TMEA should target the capacities of these agencies to
collect information that is relevant for WiT:
Agencies That Provide the Most Information Types to ALL
Categories of WiT
Agency
Information Types Sourced from
Agency
MOA
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Border procedures
● Product quality standards
● Market prices
● Pest and disease control measures
● Post-harvest handling and availability
County Government
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Business Registration requirements
● Pest and disease control measures
● Post-harvest handling and availability
EAGC – RATIN
(Civil Society Organization)
● Market linkages
● Market prices
● Pest and disease control measures
● Post-harvest handling and availability
KRA
(Official Agency)
● Business Registration requirements
● Border procedures
● Taxes and tariffs
JoyWo
(Civil Society Organization)
● Market linkages
● Financing opportunities
● Pest and disease control measures
Given the diverse information needs across categories of WiT, targeting a specific subgroup will
highlight specific agencies. An analysis of agencies and organizations that provide the most
information types to each specific subgroup of WiT is presented below:
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO WIT
18
Agencies That Provide the Most Information Types to
CBTs
Agency
Information Types Sourced from
Agency (relevant to subgroup)
MOA
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Border procedures
● Product quality standards
KRA (Official Agency)
● Business Registration requirements
● Border procedures
KenTrade (Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Border procedures
County Governments
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Border procedures
EATTA (Civil Society
Organization)
● Market linkages
● Financing opportunities
JoyWo(Civil Society
Organization)
● Market linkages
● Financing opportunities
Agencies That Provide the Most Information Types to
Urban Traders
Agency
Information Types Sourced from
Agency (relevant to subgroup)
MOA
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Product quality standards
● Market prices
County Government
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Business Registration requirements
M-Farm (X)
Private Organizations
● Market linkages
● Market prices
NAFIS (MOA)
(Official Agency)
● Market linkages
● Market prices
EATTA
(Civil Society Organization)
● Market linkages
● Financing opportunities
EAGC – RATIN
(Civil Society Organization)
● Market linkages
● Market prices
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO WIT
19
Agencies That Provide the Most Information Types to
Producers
Agency
Information Types Sourced from Agency
(relevant to subgroup)
MOA
(Official Agency)
● Pest and Disease Control Measures
● Market Linkages
● Post-Harvest Handling and Availability
County Government
(Official Agency)
● Pest and Disease Control Measures
● Market Linkages
● Post-Harvest Handling and Availability
EAGC – RATIN
(Civil Society Organization)
● Pest and Disease Control Measures
● Market Linkages
● Post-Harvest Handling and Availability
JoyWo
(Civil Society Organization)
● Pest and Disease Control Measures
● Financing Opportunities
● Market Linkages
Agencies That Provide the Most Information Types to
Exporters/Light Processors
Agency
Information Types Sourced from Agency
(relevant to subgroup)
EATTA
(Civil Society Organization)
● Financing Opportunities
● Market Linkages
JoyWo
(Civil Society Organization)
● Financing Opportunities
● Market Linkages
c. Strategy Considerations
Ease of Enhancements to Existing Information Generation Processes: The prevalence of
established solutions creates the opportunity for an ‘easy win’ in terms of enhancing the
activities of existing solution providers to improve information provision for WiT. Supporting
established solution providers in adapting existing information generation processes to generate
and disseminate information to WiT will go a long way in meeting some of the information gaps
revealed in this assignment. As highlighted in Strategy 1, specific enhancements to adapt
existing processes for solution providers should focus on enhancing the generation of
information content to ensure information is tailored to the business needs of the different WiT
groups, as well as the presentation of information in the most relevant languages and terms to
ensure that it is accessible to WiT.
STRATEGY 2: IMPROVE INFORMATION QUALITY AND RELEVANCE TO WIT
20
Recommendation for a Complementary Strategy: As highlighted in the needs analysis, one
of the key obstacles to information reaching WiT is not the lack of available information, but the
limited channels used by existing solution providers to disseminate information. Enhancing
existing information generation processes can be expected to yield limited benefits, when the
channels by which that information is delivered are suboptimal for consumption by WiT.
Therefore, a complementary strategy is advised that targets either information delivery or WiT’s
capacity to access this information.
d. Stakeholder Comments
• Information relevant to women traders is available. Market prices for instance are
extremely important, and abundantly available. In fact, there are opportunities to
increase the capacity of these organizations to provide data more sustainably and in
greater quantity.
• Information required by women traders is naturally dynamic. The market moves and
what is important to traders one day may not necessarily be important the next day. To
improve information quality for traders, one method is to improve timeliness and provide
updated information.
• A central database of information relevant to women traders may be one avenue to
improve information quality and relevance. In this way, appropriate information could be
sought after, monitored, updated, and linked with partners interested in disseminating
the information.
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION
21
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION
OF INFORMATION
Strategy 3 Summary: Strengthen the inter-agency integration of information between
information generators and disseminators
Expected Outcomes: More information available to WiT, in form and quality that is specifically
relevant to their business behavior.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Integrate Successful Deliverers and Successful Information Providers
• Coordinate Inter-Agency Integration of Information and Channels
• Facilitate Information/Data Sharing Standards
Strategy Considerations:
• Agencies have Overlapping Mandates and/or Intended Audiences
a. Actions to Strengthen Inter-Agency Integration of Information
Integrate Successful Deliverers and Successful Information Providers: A number of
organizations were identified that experienced particular success delivering information via
preferred and accessible channels to WiT. These organizations, however, often provided limited
types of information along these channels. Facilitating partnerships between relevant
information sources and agencies that provide accessible channels can take advantage of
comparative specializations and ultimately facilitate a more inclusive and accessible information
environment for WiT.
Coordinate Inter-Agency Integration of Information and Channels: While there is a dense
network of information providers targeting WiT, this assignment revealed (through key informant
interviews) a lack of communication and coordination within agencies involved in producing and
disseminating information to WiT, across government, civil society and private sector providers.
Where an agency may have the information demanded by WiT, they may not deliver it via
appropriate channels. On the other hand, other organizations deliver information to women
through highly relevant channels but struggle with accessing the relevant types of information.
An example of this is market information, which is collected nationally by the Ministry of
Agriculture (MOA): MOA has struggled to maintain its National Farmers Information Service
(NAFIS) market data collection system – it was originally set up with donor funds –, leading to
lapses in quality and reliability of data collected. However, a number of private sector partners
currently use MOA’s NAFIS data, which they disseminate to WiT and would be willing to pay
MOA to purchase the data. The potential revenue for this data, in turn, could significantly
improve NAFIS’ data quality and reliability. MOA currently does not have mechanisms in place
which would allow it to sell the information collected as a service to outside organizations. This
example demonstrates that there are significant opportunities, potentially through private-public
partnerships, to support further inter-agency integration of information content and channels.
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION
22
Government, civil society, and private sector actors should share information content and adapt
that content where necessary to disseminate it in a way that is relevant to their target group.
Facilitate Information/Data Sharing Standards: Further integration could include the
integration of basic data standards among information providers which could facilitate other
actors to add further channels and promoting each other’s information sources. At a basic level,
much of the information relevant to WiT has not been digitized, is poorly presented online, or is
rarely maintained and out-of-date. An example that would see immediate benefits to WiT would
be for the Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) to publish all its tax rates applicable to all products
in a table online – currently they provide only tax rates applicable to larger enterprises, which
are not up-to-date. A simple table of the tax schedule would permit other information
disseminators to leverage their communications channels to further distribute the information in
a tailored and easy-to-access manner relevant to WiT.
While digitizing and maintaining information online is the first step to integrating other agencies
and channels, much greater potential exists in adhering to open-data standards for data
dissemination. While online tables of information may be useful to end-users, accessible
databases have the potential to power online and mobile applications. If agencies implementing
a standard application programming interface (API) for instance, this would allow developers to
integrate that information in their own applications. An example of this is the East African Grain
Council’s (EAGC) Regional Agricultural Trade Information Network (RATIN) market prices
database. The database provides nearly 500 market prices each day for agricultural products
across East Africa. However, data is only accessible via data tables. An API would allow
developers to integrate market information into their apps, which may be better suited for WiT.
TMEA has the opportunity to facilitate this kind of integration with inter-agency coordination and
technical assistance.
b. Potential Intervention Targets
While the agencies providing information relevant to categories of WiT often disseminate their
information via their own channels, a number of organizations also provide WiT with alternative
channels for similar information. In some cases, these organizations’ channels are preferred by
WiT over original sources as they present fewer barriers to access. Improving the integration of
these agencies that are successful at reaching WiT with other information providing agencies
has the potential to strengthen the overall network of information dissemination for WiT.
The following tables highlight agencies that were identified as successfully delivering
information to each subgroup of WiT with relevant channels.
7
Each information type they
provide is complemented with a potential partner which generates information relevant to that
subgroup of WiT. These partners were selected according to the highest information relevance
scores for that subgroup of WiT identified in the stakeholder analysis.
7
More information on the methodology and specific weighting of how this ordering was achieved is presented in
the stakeholder analysis report earlier in this report series.
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION
23
Agencies That Provide the Most Relevant Information via the Most Accessible Channels for
CBTs and Potential Partners for Cooperation for Each Information Type
Agency
Information Types Disseminated
Relevant Partners for
Cooperation
County Gov
(CoG)
● Market linkages
● NAFIS (MOA)
● Business registration requirements
● KRA
● Financing opportunities
● AGMARK
● Information on product quality
standards
● NAFIS (MOA)
Sauti East
Africa
● Market prices
● NAFIS (MOA)
● Border procedures
● KRA
● Taxes and tariffs
● KRA
NAFIS (MOA)
● Market prices
● EAGC – RATIN
● Market linkages
● AGMARK
● Information on product quality
standards
● AGMARK
Agencies that Provide the Most Relevant Information via the Most Accessible Channels for
Urban Traders and Potential Partners for Cooperation for Each Information Type
Agency
Information Types Disseminated
Relevant Partners for
Cooperation
County Gov
(CoG)
● Market linkages
● NAFIS (MOA)
● Business registration requirements
● KRA
● Financing opportunities
● AGMARK
● Information on product quality standards
● NAFIS (MOA)
NAFIS (MOA)
● Market prices
● Sauti East Africa
● Market linkages
● AGMARK
● Information on product quality standards
● AGMARK
Soko+8
● Market prices
● Sauti East Africa
● Market linkages
● AGMARK
8
Note that Soko+ is not currently operating. Interviews suggest that the infrastructure exists and they are willing
to restart operations, pending funding.
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION
24
Agencies that Provide the Most Relevant Information via the Most Accessible Channels for
Producers and Potential Partners for Cooperation for Each Information Type
Agency
Information Types Disseminated
Relevant Partners for
Cooperation
County Gov
(CoG)
● Market linkages
● MOA
● Pest and disease control measures
● MOA
● Extension and advisory service providers
● MOA
● Financing opportunities
● WeFarm
● Crop/animal husbandry
● MOA
● Post-harvest handling and availability
● MOA
● Information on product quality standards
● MOA
● Input prices and availability
● MOA
● Business registration requirements
● AWEP
MOA
● Post-harvest handling and availability
● WeFarm
● Information on product quality standards
● WeFarm
● Crop/animal husbandry
● WeFarm
● Pest and disease control measures
● WeFarm
● Market linkages (linking buyers to sellers)
● WeFarm
● Extension and advisory service providers
● WeFarm
● Input prices and availability
● WeFarm
WeFarm
● Pest and disease control measures
● Tulaa
● Market linkages
● Tulaa
● Input prices and availability
● Tulaa
● Extension and advisory service providers
● Tulaa
● Financing opportunities
● Tulaa
● Crop/animal husbandry
● Tulaa
● Input prices and availability
● Tulaa
● Post-harvest handling and availability
● Tulaa
● Information on product quality standards
● FARMIS (SP)
Agencies that Provide the Most Relevant Information via the Most Accessible Channels for
Exporters/Light Processors and Potential Partners for Cooperation for Each Information
Type
Agency
Information Types Disseminated
Relevant Partners for Cooperation
AWEP
● Business registration requirements
● County Gov (CoG)
● Government regulations
● EPC
● Market linkages
● EPC
STRATEGY 3: STRENGTHEN INTER-AGENCY INTEGRATION OF INFORMATION
25
● Financing opportunities
● County Gov (CoG)
● Information on product quality standards
● EPC
EPC
● Information on market demand and prices
● EAGC - RATIN
● Market linkages
● County Gov (CoG)
● Information on product quality standards
● County Gov (CoG)
● Government regulations
● KEPSA
County
Gov
(CoG)
● Market linkages
● KEPSA
● Financing opportunities
● OWIT
● Information on product quality standards
● OWIT
● Business registration requirements
● KRA
c. Strategy Considerations
Agencies have Overlapping Mandates and/or Intended Audiences: Despite the benefits of
inter-agency integration between agencies, or intra-agency integration within agencies,
communication, and coordination efforts across a diverse space of public and private sector
actors may be a costly and time-consuming endeavor. Overlapping agency or departmental
mandates and intended audiences have contributed to limited information sharing among public
and private sector information actors. Further, WiT typically hold a deprioritized position within
public policy frameworks of agencies and have limited purchasing power for profit-oriented
agencies. As a result, increasing WiT’s position within these mandates will need to be prioritized
to support the implementation of additional information processes and dissemination
technologies. For public agencies, this effort will likely need to be part of Kenya’s larger gender
equity strategies. For private enterprises, either the costs will need to be covered by a third-
party, or a convincing business case will need to be made to promote the profitable targeting of
Kenya’s WiT.
d. Stakeholder Comments
• Agencies need to consider and agree on a target audience to guide cooperative efforts.
• Possible opportunities for beneficial knowledge management/feedback loop between
generators and disseminators. Agencies should follow up on how the information has
been interpreted by the different targeted women in trade. Then, they should keep
tweaking it to better fit the consumer.
• All government agencies are mandated to have information office/point person and
make their data available and accessible. They will be important points of contacts for an
initiative like this.
• It is necessary to invest in capacity building at the information generator level and
disseminator level before improving inter-agency cooperation.
STRATEGY 4: EXPAND CHANNELS FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TO WIT
26
STRATEGY 4: EXPAND CHANNELS FOR INFORMATION
DISSEMINATION TO WIT
Strategy 4 Summary: Build on existing capacities of relevant information providers by adding
additional channels for WiT to access business information.
Expected Outcomes: Additional channels with which information providers can disseminate
information.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Support the Implementation of Agencies’ Additional Information Channels
• Facilitate Providers Efforts to Tailor Existing Information Content for WiT
Strategy Considerations:
• Existing Foundations for Enhancing Channel Capacities
a. Actions to Expand Channels that Deliver Information Relevant to WiT
Support the Implementation of Agencies’ Additional Information Channels: Sauti’s
previous reports identified trader’s challenges and preferences regarding channels to access
business information. In several cases, the most relevant information sources did not provide an
access channel that was preferred by WiT. Supporting the expansion of these agencies’ range
of channels to include channels that are preferred specific target subgroups of women in trade
can yield significant benefits to the business information ecosystem. While many of these
agencies typically provide channels that target demographics with more capacity, intervening to
support the implementation of additional information channels has the opportunity to more fully
include WiT into existing information ecosystems.
b. Potential Intervention Targets
The following partners have been identified according to their strong significance with the
subgroup of women in trade but did not already offer a preferred channel to access their
information. Our stakeholder analysis outlines a methodology for identifying these agencies
according to the information they provide and the channels by which they provide the
information. By creating counter-factual examples, whereby we simulate the addition of a new
channel, we can estimate the percentage increase of their significance to WiT.
Agencies that stand to benefit CBTs with the addition of new delivery channels
Agency
Added Channel
Current Stakeholder
Significance Rank
% Increase in
Stakeholder Significance
Score
Sauti
East
Africa
● One-on-One Conversations
2
20.55%
STRATEGY 4: EXPAND CHANNELS FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TO WIT
27
NAFIS
(MOA)
● One-on-One Conversations
● Sensitization Workshops &
Trade Fairs
3
36.22%
KRA
● Mobile Phone
4
35.90%
AGMARK
● Mobile Phone
5
36.23%
Agencies that stand to benefit Urban Traders with the addition of new delivery channels
Agency
Added Channel
Current Stakeholder
Significance Rank
% Increase in
Stakeholder Significance
Score
NAFIS
(MOA)
● One-on-One Conversations
● Radio
2
30.88%
Soko+
● One-on-One Conversations
● Radio
3
35.59%
EAGC -
RATIN
● Mobile Phone
● Radio
4
56.44%
Agencies that stand to benefit Producers with the addition of new delivery channels
Agency
Added Channel
Current Stakeholder
Significance Rank
% Increase in
Stakeholder Significance
Score
FARMIS
(SP)
● Sensitization Workshops &
Trade Fairs
5th
9.42%
AGMARK
● Mobile Phone
7th
21.11%
EAGC -
RATIN
● Mobile Phone
10th
28.17%
NAFIS
(MOA)
● One-on-One
Conversations
● Sensitization Workshops &
Trade Fairs
11th
21.37%
Agencies that stand to benefit Exporters/Light Processors with the addition of new delivery
channels
Agency
Added Channel
Current Stakeholder
Significance Rank
% Increase in
Stakeholder Significance
Score
EPC
● Business/trade networks
2
8.29%
EAGC -
RATIN
● Mobile Phone
● Social Media / WhatsApp
3
15.10%
KEPSA
● Mobile Phone
5
6.28%
STRATEGY 4: EXPAND CHANNELS FOR INFORMATION DISSEMINATION TO WIT
28
c. Strategy Considerations
Existing Foundations for Enhancing Channel Capacities: Certain agencies have existing
processes and technical knowledge for relevant channels of information dissemination that have
demonstrated significant success in reaching WiT. This strategy capitalizes on this existing
expertise to enhance these channels. Further, these agencies often have nascent partnerships
in place to feed information channels but have yet to fully exploit the benefits of these
partnerships. With additional support, in capacity-building terms, these already implemented
interventions serve as the foundations for additional reach among targeted WiT groups.
d. Stakeholder Comments
• Relevant information dissemination needs to consider conflicting information sources
and users’ information overload. A common standard needs to be developed both
internally and for presentation externally.
• When pursing this strategy, focus and relevancy could be found by targeting specific
value chains, rather than broad categories of trader.
• Literacy, simplification, and local language accessibility is necessary for user uptake with
Kenya’s traders.
• Telecoms companies represent an untapped resource for disseminating official
information.
• In-person dissemination channels are often challenged by the cost of transport. I.e.
agronomists can’t often pay for transport to reach the farm.
• Toll free lines are needed to complement existing systems and provide user assistance.
STRATEGY 5: IMPROVE CAPACITIES AND STRATEGIES OF WIT TO ACCESS
THE EXISTING INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM
29
STRATEGY 5: IMPROVE CAPACITIES AND STRATEGIES OF
WIT TO ACCESS THE EXISTING INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM
Strategy 5 Summary: WiT often lack the necessary capacities and face barriers to access
existing information channels. This strategy specifically targets these capacities of WiT and
builds on them to allow WiT to access more advanced and ubiquitous information channels.
Expected Outcomes: Additional capacities for WiT to overcome traditional barriers to
accessing information, leading to increased use of existing channels.
Action Points for TMEA:
• Conduct Workshops that Prioritize Low-Technology Business Information
• Conduct Digital Literacy Training Workshops
Strategy Considerations:
• Recommendation for Complementary Strategy to Improve Provision of Tailored
Information to WiT
• System-wide Challenges to Scale and Sustainability
Sauti’s stakeholder analysis identified a number of agencies that provided information relevant
to WiT, but via high-cost channels for WiT. While previous strategies in this report have focused
on strategies that reduce those costs for WiT by enhancing information processes or channel
technologies, improving the capacities of WiT may be a beneficial intervention area. Essentially,
this strategy focuses on integrating WiT into the existing information ecosystem.
The figure below characterizes the key costs for WiT to access the channels provided by
various stakeholders. At the bottom of the pyramid, Phone Calls have the lowest access costs,
but also limited quality information. At the top of the pyramid, the provision of information quality
is high via, but so are the costs to access: these costs include having a smartphone or desktop,
the required digital literacy, and access to the internet.
STRATEGY 5: IMPROVE CAPACITIES AND STRATEGIES OF WIT TO ACCESS
THE EXISTING INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM
30
a. Actions to Improve Capacities for WiT to Access the Information Ecosystem
Improve Information Source Awareness among WiT: This assignment engaged many
women in trade who were unaware of the dense ecosystem of information available to them.
Often times, they relied on word-of-mouth from other knowledgeable traders. These methods,
they indicated, created challenges for information accuracy, reliability, availability, and specific
pertinence to their purpose for seeking information.
9
For example many women are unaware of
the different roles the various government agencies, such as KEBS, KRA, KenTrade, KEPHIS,
play in trade facilitation and what types of information they can provide to the women. Improving
the communications efforts of information sources to increase awareness among WiT presents
an opportunity to ease challenges faced by traders who cannot locate relevant information, such
as where they can find useful information and how they can effectively employ it in business
activities.
Conduct Workshops that Prioritize Low-Technology Business Information: Many WiT
engaged throughout this assignment indicated specific capacity limitations that prevented them
from accessing advanced channels of business information. These limitations included not
owning a smartphone, or limited access to the internet. That said, focus group discussions
highlighted participants’ different ‘low-technology’ strategies for gathering business information
that WiT employed to make up for the shortfall in channels available to them. These included
confirmation techniques for anecdotal information and business networking over the phone.
These focus group discussions also revealed a willingness to learn new techniques and
strategies to improve WiT’s business operations. This strategy suggests that support for
workshops, which focus on low-technology strategies for market research, the benefits of
necessary business information, and are mindful of WiT’s capacity constraints, can go some
way to increasing the capacity of women to access the information ecosystem.
Conduct Digital Literacy Training Workshops: An additional obstacle to WiT’s capacity to
access business information relates to digital literacy and the knowledge to take advantage of
digital channels available to them. While a number of WiT indicated that they had access to the
internet and a smartphone, most respondents still received the majority of their business
information via phone calls, SMS or USSD. Those respondents with higher levels of education
or advanced digital literacy preferred to use WhatsApp or Email, for which they cited more utility
when compared to ‘low-technology’ channels. This gap in digital literacy appears to be related
more to appropriate education, than with technical requirements and suggests that it may be
overcome with workshops that communicate how WiT’s existing devices may be more optimally
used to find beneficial trade information. Women-focused workshops could be supported to
provide a learning space specific to the digital requirements of WiT and introduces additional
value to the devices at their disposal.
b. Potential Partners
This strategy suggests that CSO’s that include advancing the capacities of WiT within their
mandates are best positioned as partners for interventions of this type. However, we would
9
See the baseline report for challenges to accessing information via one-on-one information and for awareness of
existing information sources.
STRATEGY 5: IMPROVE CAPACITIES AND STRATEGIES OF WIT TO ACCESS
THE EXISTING INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM
31
recommend that TMEA seek out organizations specializing in digital literacy training to carry out
the actual training and utilize the CSOs as convenors of the workshops. There are a number of
organizations specializing in digital literacy and business skills currently operating in Kenya such
as African Management Initiative and ARIFU. However, a complete mapping of such
stakeholders was outside of the scope of this assignment. The table below lists the CSO’s most
relevant to each subgroup of WiT according to the types of information they disseminate and
through which channels.
Subgroup of WiT
Most relevant
CSO agencies
CBTs
1. EAGC - RATIN
2. AFIPEK
3. KNCCI
Urban Traders
1. EAGC – RATIN
2. AFIPEK
3. KNCCI
Producers
1. JoyWo
2. OWIT
3. EAGC - RATIN
Exporters/Light
Processors
1. AWEP
2. EAGC – RATIN
3. KEPSA
c. Strategy Considerations
Recommendation for Complementary Strategy to Improve Provision of Tailored
Information to WiT: While improving the capacity of WiT to access existing channels of
information is likely to have far-reaching benefits beyond access to trade information, the impact
is limited by the quality of information available. Therefore, improving the quality of information
provision, specifically as it pertains to the business behavior of WiT (small businesses, few
savings, etc) is recommended to complement this strategy. Adding WiT to the existing
information ecosystem is a laudable objective, however, it still remains that that ecosystem is
primarily geared towards higher-value business demographics. This strategy needs to
acknowledge these obstacles and complement interventions from within the information
ecosystem.
System-wide Challenges to Scale and Sustainability: This strategy is predicated on a
system-wide intervention targeting WiT in Kenya. To be effective, equitable, and inclusive an
intervention of this type will likely have to be large-scale, sustained, and well-resourced.
Additionally, the current baseline among WiT suggests that there are significant system-wide
gaps to overcome costly access to business information channels. For instance, smartphone
STRATEGY 5: IMPROVE CAPACITIES AND STRATEGIES OF WIT TO ACCESS
THE EXISTING INFORMATION ECOSYSTEM
32
ownership – generally required for WhatsApp, Email, and Web channels of business information
– is comparatively low among WiT. This gap in capacity may be symptomatic of a larger
structural capacity issue: when a participant was asked in focus group discussions why WiT had
so few smartphones, they indicated that women traders would prefer to spend the money on
their children and care duties. As these gendered issues persist throughout Kenya, it is likely
then, that this strategy will have to be integrated into a larger intervention targeting similar
structural inequalities for working women in Kenya.
d. Stakeholder Comments
• Women’s associations present opportunities to conduct digital literacy training programs
– they spend more time with the women traders, they are often comprised of community
leaders, and they hold trust among the community.
• Additional obstacles for accessing digital channels are related to cultural norms related
to access to phones in certain communities/access to finance
• Training of trainers, represent a possible implementation tool for digital skills training
• Low-technology normalization and age issues represent hurdles for women to adopt
innovative technologies related to their businesses.
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ANNEX 1 – STAKEHOLDER VALIDATION PARTICIPANTS
The following organizations and agencies were represented at the stakeholder validation
workshop:
• African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)
• AGMARK
• African Women Agribusiness Network (AWAN)
• Collaborative Centre for Gender & Development
• East African Civil Society Organisations' Forum (EACSOF)
• East Africa Grain Council (EAGC)
• East African Women in Business Platform (EAWiBP)
• Fresh Produce Exporters Association of Kenya (FPEAK)
• Joyful Women (JoyWo)
• Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM)
• Kenya Association of Women in Business (KAWBO)
• Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
• Kenya Fish Processors & Exporters Association (AFIPEK)
• KenTrade
• Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA)
• Ministry of Agriculture - Agriculture Sector Department support Programme (ASDSP)
• Ministry of Gender
• M-Shamba
ANNEX 2 – AUTHOR CONTACT DETAILS
Sauti East Africa would be pleased to answer any questions about this report. Find our contact
details below:
Sauti East Africa Limited
The Mint Hub
Western Heights (11th floor)
Nairobi, Kenya
info@sautiafrica.org
www.sautiafrica.org
Tel: +254 736 484 190