East African Business Week

Google last week continued its roll out of Google Trader with the launch of the service in East Africa's largest economy, which also boasts the highest internet penetration rates in the region.
The launch of Google Trader Kenya will ramp up competition in the online auction/classified website business in a market that is occupied by small operators who deal in specialised items and a few big players from South Africa.
The Kenyan launch follows earlier launches of the same web-based service by Google in Ghana and Uganda. The Uganda service is run in partnership with Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN) Uganda but is web-based, mobile and SMS-centric.
"Today (Monday) Google has announced the launch of Google Trader, as part of its commitment to driving the web forward in Kenya, and highlighting the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the Internet," a company statement said.
Olga Arara-Kimani, the Google Kenya country manager said the launch will go a long way in simplifying buying and selling of especially goods and services in Kenya where more than 4 million people have access to the internet.
"By offering this free and easy to use service across the web and mobile web platforms, we aim to make the service as accessible to as many Kenyans as possible," she said.
Trader is a free online classifieds service that allows users to buy and sell products and services, as well as search for jobs or just about anything else.
The online auction houses space in East Africa has been largely dominated by South Africa-based companies like Bid or Buy (bidorbuy.co.za), Kalahari (karahari.net) and dealfisf.com, which has recently come onto the scene covering the Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania markets.
Dealfish is a Pan-African network of online marketplaces owned by MIH Internet Africa, the digital business arm of Naspers, currently the world's fifth largest media concern.
Google Trader will enable users locate say a mechanical engineer in Nairobi, enable one sell their used car because they have decided to buy a new one and the like.
"Whether you're looking for houses to rent in your neighbourhood, a second hand car, a book for your personal library or even a few metres of cloth, Trader has thousands of products and services available in your local area," Dorothy Ooko, Google's communications manager for East and Central Africa said in an email response. Trader can be used by anyone in Kenya, but is expected to have the biggest uptake in major towns and cities across the country.  
Reacting to Trader's entrance onto the Kenya scene, Jaco Jonker, the chief executive officer Bid or Buy said Trader offer more of a classifieds platform than a pure commerce platform.
"I would think that they pose more of a threat to the likes of pure classified sites," he said via email. Bidorbuy.co.ke he said offers a true marketplace experience with fixed price, classifieds and auction sales formats.
Jonker said his company offers a much more controlled environment where they have a dedicated security department that screen sellers before allowing them to trade on the platform.
He said his company also has a much more sophisticated sales management backend that helps sellers manage sales, communication, ratings etcetera.
Moses Kemibaro, who heads Dealfish's operations in East Africa, said they were expecting the launch.
"We welcome the competition, it validates the market opportunities we are pursuing as Dealfish when Google joins the fray. It will help grow the market for our offerings and spur innovation, as well as uptake," Kemibaro said.
"It will be competitive but history has shown that a company with the size of Google will always win in competitive scenarios," he said. "It's quite possible that the two offerings will co-exist with this different market segments using them. At the end of the day, the market will decide what happens next."
Commenting on the performance of Trader in Uganda, Ham Namakajo, the Google country manager said the response has been good so far with sustained growth in usage month over month.
"We continue to iterate the product to make it better based on user feedback. Users can expect to see significant changes within the next few months that will translate to an even better user experience," Namakajo said.