I’m sure you know, every small business owner in Kenya has a problem of finding cheap supplies. Factories are cheap. But the minimum spending they set is just too high for us common entrepreneurs. Luckily, at least for Nairobians, we are always advised to go to those nooks and crannies streets for real bulk breaking.
When was the last time you were there? These are your Dubois roads, your Luthuli avenues, your Khoja stage and what not. You can find everything cheap; packaging material, fittings, fabric and even machinery. I know you never feel as safe there. So, it’s good enough that you can opt for M-Pesa rather than carry cash. You don’t want your first experience with the new coins to be that you were mugged.
Problem with these discounters is not the few bad apples who con customers. I’m far too street smart for that. I hope you too are. It’s the fact that their work is not standardized. You may get there and find price is not what you estimated. You may also find that they are out of stock. So, you have to move to the next shop selling at a different rate.
This messes up any entrepreneur’s budget. And when you consider that you may have to pay someone to carry them to your car, parked in the so-called safer streets uptown, or your boarding stage, it’s much. If your M-Pesa and cash don’t add up, you may have to “come back tomorrow.” You want that? Then it’s a good thing that from 2019 you won’t be cornered into such situations ever again.
Fuliza has been introduced to help you
A new facility called Fuliza has been introduced to help you complete your Lipa na M-Pesa transactions. ‘Send Money’ is included as well. This will help you sort your working capital problems. You’ll be in control of more money than you actually have.
What many small business owners never realize, early, is that you’ll never 100% solve your liquidity problem. You can only keep your head above water. And you do this by cleverly moving your money around, to where it’s needed most. Think about it. Would you rather pay your employees and keep them productive or pay that town supplier?
I think you want this Fuliza service. But I also know your alarm bells are ringing. You have resolutions. You don’t want loans and the processes of acquiring them in 2019. Okay. And there is no “process” with Fuliza. Fuliza automatically tops up your pending M-Pesa transaction balance. When you deposit or receive money, in turn, you’ll restore your Fuliza limit.
This limit is just the maximum you would need Fuliza to top up. It’s from sh.1 to sh.70,000, as allocated by M-Pesa. And whatever it is will be revised upwards or downwards every 3 months by Safaricom. This will depend on your frequency and amounts of normal M-Pesa transactions. If you are one of those weird people who call with different numbers, then yes, you can register all of your lines to Fuliza. The charges for Fuliza are fair. You’ll only pay a 1% access fee. Plus a maintenance fee on outstanding balance that doesn’t go above sh.30 a day, for those who set the max limit of sh.70,000.
How do you register for Fuliza? Be a registered M-Pesa user then dial *234#. Select the first option (Fuliza M-Pesa) and follow subsequent prompts. You’ll be able to check your limit, balance and mini-statement by dialling the same.