Francis Karanja is not your average watermelon vendor at Wakulima Market. Instead of sitting at his stall every day waiting for customers to come and buy from him, he has gone a step further to make sure he increases his sales by going to where his customers like to spend most of their time - the internet.

Social media, he says, has become part of people's everyday lives, attracting young and old alike who go there for a variety of reasons, including entertainment, information and education.

So, armed with his smartphone, he started recording short videos of himself at his stall in Wakulima market, doing various tasks hoping to attract customers. His efforts have borne fruit, through his platform he has been able to attract new customers who now place orders online after watching his videos.

Traders at the market have been able to digitize their businesses thanks to the installation of internet by the Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology and Digital Economy in November 2023.

Francis Karanja a businessman selling watermelons at Wakulima market. He uses the market WIFI to post videos on TikTok to promote business.

Photo credit: Purity Kinuthia/Mtaa Wangu

"I have been actively posting on TikTok to promote sales of the watermelons I sell. The videos range from me arranging my products and slicing them so that people can see the quality of the fruit I sell. The WIFI has been a game changer for many traders in this market," Mr Karanja said.

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Alice Maina, who sells onions at the market, says she has seen an increase in customers after she started using technology to enhance her business, using WhatsApp to sell and buy her onions.

"I would say that the availability of WIFI in this market has saved me a monthly expenditure of Sh8,000 that would otherwise be spent on transport to Nyeri to visit onion farms. Currently, I use WhatsApp to get pictures of the onions that I want to buy from the farmer and pay for what meets my expectations," Ms Maina said.

She then posts the onions she has bought on her WhatsApp status.

"A single post can attract customers from as far away as Kisumu and Tanzania who make orders of the onions I have posted. The free WIFI at the market has saved me the cost of buying data to stay online and has greatly improved my business," she said.

In addition, social media has allowed her to connect directly with the farmer, saving her the hassle of dealing with unscrupulous brokers and middlemen who would sometimes mix the good quality onions with the bad, causing her to make huge losses.

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Since she would be forced to throw away the poor quality onions.

Wakulima market organising secretary, Francis Karara, says the market has a population of 4000 traders, of which at least 2000 have access to smartphones, meaning they can use the WIFI for both leisure and business.

"We have traders who use the WIFI to conduct their business on social apps such as Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. As a result, this has popularised our market and brought more traffic to the business here," Mr Karara said.

Internet connectivity, he says, has been installed in 10 of the market's 27 sections.

Potato traders at the Wakulima market using their phone to watch content on social media.

Photo credit: Purity Kinuthia/Mtaa Wangu

He is appealing to the government to complete the installation of WIFI in the remaining sections so that all traders can benefit from the digitalisation and economic transformation agenda.

Apart from Wakulima market, Top market in the city centre has also installed WIFI.

The Tik Tok traders and mama mbogas of Wakulima market

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