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I’m not talking about the latest slasher flick (though I might as well be…) but rather one of the biggest headaches for Africa’s second-largest economic powerhouse. Officially, the term describes products that are no longer selling, are obsolete, or just not expected to bring in any more revenue. It’s a completely understandable reason to hate the world. And if you’re already getting sad, wait till you hear about how this affects African micro-enterprises! With a whopping 80% MSME failure rate within the first five years of launch, most failed African small businesses can attribute their failure to dead-inventory. Sure, there are other reasons, such as lack of capital, expensive credit, hyper-competition, limited business skills, and many others, but nothing breaks your heart quite like deadstock.
Imagine waking up every day as a small business owner, staring at a pile of inventory that you’ve been unable to sell for months, sometimes even years. It’s a problem that can kill any enterprise, but in this case, it starts by draining your enthusiasm for both business and life.
Close your eyes and imagine for a moment the staggering impact of 80% of the second-largest employers in Africa going bust within just five years. Countless people would lose their livelihoods, and the economy would suffer a massive blow right? Sadly, this isn’t just a hypothetical scenario. The truth is, our market is oversaturated with micro-retailers selling the same products to the same target market. Our high levels of unemployment are driving more and more people into micro-retail due to the few barriers involved. The ready availability of very expensive credit is making it easier for people to get into business without any long-term plans. These confluence of events has led to the aggressive expansion of the retail industry even while the market shares for individual micro-retailers shrink. It’s a daunting problem that must be tackled head-on if we want to see our small businesses thrive and succeed.
This should give you some insight into what we’re doing at WymBee. We’re Africa’s first deadstock relief provider targetting the micro-end of retail. It is our mission to ensure micro-retail enterprises have an avenue through which they can recoup their capital so as to reposition their business as fast as they possibly can.
