Jumia vendors will face a Sh25,000 fine for any counterfeit item they sell on the online retail platform.
The heavy penalty imposed by the retailer is aimed at protecting customers from buying counterfeit products as it prepares for the biggest and longest Black Friday Promotion sales.
“We will not tolerate supply of counterfeit products because customer experience is what determines whether they come back to the shop or not,” said Jumia Kenya Managing Director Sam Chappatte at a press conference on the sidelines of a meeting with vendors.
Chappatte also assured the retailer will refund cash to customers who buy faulty or counterfeit goods.
But the retailer has also sweetened the deal for vendors as an incentive to drive the Black Friday promotional sale which will run for 30 days between November 13 and December 13.
Among the goodies that the retailer has offered vendors are affordable soft loans to finance inventories and working capital during the promotion.
Under the Jumia Lending platform, vendors will access loans ― processed online at interest rates ranging between 1-3 percent per month.
Chappatte said vendors are already queuing to make inquiries on how to access the loans as they prepare to stock their shops for the Black Friday sale.
“Even today, I have dozens of vendors waiting for me to explain how the lending programme works,” he said.
Nakutech Trading director Harrison Karanja, a Jumia Vendor dealing in home appliances and furniture told this news site he has already benefited from the facility and has put the funding to work.
“I am just waiting for Black Friday after the financing,” said Karanja.
The vendor said Jumia Lending is better than bank loans for small businesses like his because of the turnaround time.
“My loan was disbursed in less than a week. You can’t get such turnarounds in Kenyan banks,” he said.
Besides the loans, vendors who make the highest sale will be rewarded with a weeklong trip to Bangkok, Thailand.
jumia sold me a fake laptop