Mahambi Market, an online peer-to-peer thrift marketplace has launched to help Kenyan youth take their businesses online and promote a waste-free, reuse, reduce and recycle culture in fashion.
Launched on 5th September 2020, Mahambi aims to help users sell their thrift attire online and earn an income during the current crisis by helping them open ‘digital shops’ and selling their clothing items from anywhere, anytime.
Though many stores use Instagram and Facebook pages to sell their clothing, Mahambi Market seeks to open up a platform that taps on the need for online engagement and the sense of trust and security that this generation receives from referral and or recommendation from their peers.
Mahambi is not the first such platform. Closet49 was one of the earliest players in this sector but closed down due to low demand. Turns out many shoppers weren’t used to buying secondhand clothes online then. If things have changed, Mahambi Market might be the place for Kenyans to buy and sell their secondhand clothing.
According to Sanjeev Jandu, Mahambi Market CEO, “There are so many individuals out there with more clothes than they do wear and would love a space to creatively showcase this wardrobe and potentially sell these items, there is even a larger population eager to browse through and shop thrift items without the hassle of leaving their homes.”
Jandu adds that there is an upsurge of e-commerce users as the majority of Kenyans are buying most of their stuff online. Mahambi Market also gives a platform for thrift sellers to move digital with a trusted website for both buyer and seller. The website focuses on clothing items for both men and women which includes fashion accessories and select home décor products.
How Mahambi Market works?
All a vendor has to do to get started is sign up on the Mahambi Marketplace Website, snap pictures of their merchandise and then post them for sale. Mahambi Market is open to individuals, wherever they are in Kenya, who would like to sell their used fashion items online. To ensure security for both vendor and buyer, the products are vetted by the site and before being approved to the website. Once a sale has been done, the money remains in the Mahambi Market wallet, where the seller has been alerted a sale has been made, until the client confirms they are comfortable with the purchase then the money is given to the seller.
Mahambi Market allows buyers to browse through the various digital shops, pay online and have the items delivered to them, all from the comfort of their homes. They also assist sellers to create cool, fun and interactive profiles to receive maximum engagement with the buyers.
The platform now has registered over 250 vendors and the website has over 400 products on sale ranging from clothes, accessories, beauty products and homeware. Mahambi Market will also be associated with a charity and anything from any vendor that doesn’t get sold will be donated to a charity..
