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The Nairobian

Over 1000 traders trained in bookkeeping and environment conservation

Nyanza

By Olivia Odhiambo | Mar 04, 2025

A section of 1000 duka owners from Kisumu county attend a training by Techno serve in partnership with Kisumu county government. [Olivia Odhiambo, Standard]

More than 1,000 micro retailers and manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods in Kisumu have been trained on how to improve their operational efficiency, marketing and bookkeeping skills.

The training program will also help the micro retailers build market linkages and inculcate good environmental sustainability practices through their conservation skills.

The program, dubbed the smart duka initiative, began in 2015 and has so far benefited over 7000 micro retailers across Nairobi, Kiambu and Machakos counties as well as generating 14000 jobs and facilitating access to over Sh60 million in working capital for businesses.

The program being funded by Tecnoserve in partnership with Moody's Foundation and Kisumu County government is also providing practical business management training, access to affordable financial products, and direct connections to manufacturers and suppliers.

They are also providing digital tools for business operations and support in business formalization as a way of tackling the challenges of micro retailers.

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Speaking in Kisumu during the training, Alice Waweru, director of enterprises programs at Tecno Serve, said micro-retail shops commonly known as dukas are vital to Kenya's economy because they provide essential goods, create jobs and support communities.

"Many duka owners lack business skills and have limited access to affordable financial credit while experiencing poor market linkages. The micro-retail sector also has fragmented and informal sector practices," Ms Waweru.

According to Ms Waweru, micro-retailers contribute a turnover of Sh20 billion annually to the Kenyan economy.

Alice Waweru, Director Enterprises of the program at the Techno serve addresses journalists during the training in Kisumu county. [Olivia Odhiambo, Standard]

She said every trained duka owner can create two new jobs, so the training is necessary because it accelerates job creation.

"About 95 per cent of the community purchase from the micro-retail shops in the country, with leading manufacturers selling 80 per cent of their goods through their outlets. In one typical micro retail outlet shop, you will find about 200 different types of goods," she noted.

Micro retailers have been urged to join the national Duka Association where they can advocate for their rights and benefit from more such training programs.

The director also noted that during the training program, they are asking the duka owners to care for the environment by ensuring proper waste management.

"We know that they have all kinds of products in their shops and so we are asking them to manage waste coming from their shops, like cartons and plastics, this way we can help them aggregate this waste and sell it to our partners that we are working with," she said.

Trade, tourism, cooperatives industry, CEC Faridah Salim said the program that involves all duka owners in all sub-counties is majorly looking at how to increase profits and sustainability of our dukas in the county through this program.