Pick-Up Mtaani is an e-commerce logistics start-up in Kenya which been working to bring safe, secure and tech-driven delivery services to consumers. With a rise in demand for internet shopping in recent years, platforms like MPESA have made it easier for consumers to pay for products they buy online.
Ken Okiya and Robert Mwalugha, the founders of Pick-Up Mtaani, are helping businesses to operate smoothly by offering a simple, tech-driven solution.
The two Kenyatta University graduates started Pick-Up Mtaani in May last year, following a surge in demand for e-commerce in Kenya at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using M-PESA to manage secure digital payments between e-commerce businesses, customers and neighbourhood shops acting as Pick-Up Mtaani local collection points.
Before Pick-Up Mtaani, Ken and Robert used to crisscross the city of Nairobi on motorbikes, delivering packages door to door.
How Pick-Up Mtaani works
Once a customer shops online, they ask if the seller delivers through Pick-Up Mtaani. If they do, the seller asks their preferred delivery location. The customer then pays a flat-rate delivery fee to Pick-Up Mtaani’s PayBill, via M-PESA on their mobile device. Following confirmation of payment, the business drops off the product at a local Pick-Up Mtaani point. The customer is notified by text message (SMS) and provided with a unique code which they can use to collect their order.
To ship with Pick-Up Mtaani, buyers must include Pick-up Mtaani Agent Location and Pick-up Mtaani Agent Name in the Order Notes during checkout. Delivery within Nairobi County is Ksh. 100, with deliveries to other counties ranging from Ksh. 200 to Ksh. 250.
Ken, Robert and the Pick-Up Mtaani team have recruited more than 80 local collection points so far across Nairobi, as well as the coastal city of Mombasa and other towns across Kenya.
The two entrepreneurs plan to launch an app for their business plans which will allow for the live tracking of orders at each stage of the process. The business plans to expand its services to more areas of Kenya this year.