Digitisation: Postal Corporation of Kenya seals Sh72m deal
Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK) has secured $650,000 (Sh72.1 million) from TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) in a year- long agreement aimed at improving the corporation’s digital services, to enable it effectively support ecommerce in the East African region.
It will benefit through enhanced internal digital capacities and improved collaboration with external, both regional and global actors, in the e-commerce space.
The corporation primarily handles parcels and small to medium- sized cargo for consignments crossing borders for both air and land freight.
Dan Kagwe, PCK Postmaster General and CEO said the partnership was “a historical moment for the institution, as TMEA becomes one of the partners that have shown confidence in the corporation’s capacity to enhance ecommerce in the region.
Diverse stakeholders
“It is a great beginning that will open doors for Posta to work with diverse stakeholders and access the potential that exists in the East African region,” he said.
Kagwe added that, the country and region have over time experienced a rapid shift from traditional mail, money order and stamp sales to the growth of e-commerce and packages below 10kgs that are relatable to SMEs.
Director Business Competitiveness at TMEA Anataria Uwamariya said Posta is an ideal partner to enhance the logistical nature of their interventions to enhance e-commerce ecosystems across the region, especially through its last mile delivery capabilities.
“It is our intention that this partnership will enhance co-creation and engagement of diverse private and public sector stakeholders in the region,” she said.
Export capability
The deal funded under the improved business competitiveness strategic objective of TMEA’s Export Capability programme, seeks to facilitate increased trade capacity of targetted businesses through increased use of technology to boost regional trade and linking businesses to international markets.
The corporation is keen to tap into the growth of small parcels and e-commerce items within the postal systems of Kenya from an average 1800 items every four days in 2018 to 2,300 per day in 2021, against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic.
