Document Actions
Dynamic Distribution from the Factory Gates
Bundling these other items for distribution through Tanzania’s wholesaler/retailer networks has made it very cost effective for AtoZ to get mosquito nets to remote areas of the country where people really need them. At times, AtoZ’s marketing team is identifying potential retailers and linking them to wholesalers in the nearest commercial center.
I accompanied one of AtoZ’s intrepid truck driver-salesman, Fred, as the nets left the factory in Arusha destined for homes in a region called Ifakara. Carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in AtoZ’s merchandise, we encountered bumpy unpaved roads, bridges too narrow to fit a truck, and wild animals roaming free on the road in Mikumi park. Sometimes Fred is away from home for two weeks, but this time we were out just one week.
One of the most interesting deliveries we made was to a wholesaler which is selling only mosquito nets. Most wholesalers sell many other items such as flour, cooking oil, (and, of course, the most profitable) Pepsi/Coke, beer and cigarettes. I was amazed and proud to learn that this wholesaler was profitable enough to have created an entire wholesale and retail business aimed at preventing malaria. As a married team, Mr. and Mrs. Kimambo have run this business for over 12 years. Below I have shared a photo story for you to better understand their work:
Photo 1: AtoZ’s truck driver salesman, Fred, with his seven-ton-carrying delivery truck.
Photos 2: This is the market in Morogoro where Mr. & Mrs. Kimambo have both a wholesale business and a retail shop.
Photo 3: This is one of the tailors outside of the Kimambos’ shop doors reviewing her patterns before she starts working on the most exquisite sewing machine.
Photo 4: Outside of the Kimambos’ shop- a nicely painted wall with a big mosquito and a message about strategies for preventing mosquitoes with malaria.
Photo 5: Mr. & Mrs. Kimambo are assisting a customer who has come to purchase a net. She looked first at the polyester Safi-net (which has to be retreated with pesticide every six months and costs less than a dollar with her voucher). She then decided she wanted to purchase AtoZ’s Olyset net (which lasts for 5-6 years without any retreatment), but she was 20 cents short of being able to afford the better net. The Kimambos paid the extra 20 cents so that this pregnant mother could protect her family at night with a better net.
Photo 6: AtoZ’s team unloads nearly hundreds of nets for the Kimambos’ shop. Its hot and heavy work since Fred had to park the big truck far from the shop on the road.
Photo 7: This is the inside of the shop where Mr. Kimambo, Fred (AtoZ’s truck driver salesman) and Peter (AtoZ’s Marketing Manager), handle the billing and inventory check for our delivery.
Photo 8 & 9: A retailer named Peter came to the Kimambos’ shop to buy nets. Unlike most retailers, Peter is only traveling across town and he could only afford to purchase a few nets. His delivery ride will be much simpler than most retailers who sometimes travel for days in rough conditions.
Photo 10: After saying good bye to the Kimambos, we made our way to a town called Ifakara, where we discovered the most beautifully painted mural on the side of a medical clinic, which featured women tying up mosquito nets!
re: Maasai distributors for nets
Hi Dana, Thanks so much for your comment. I am very interested in the business incubator and VP fund you mentioned. Would love to learn more about it-- I am particularly interested in philanthropy among local Tanzanians who care about giving back to their country. I joined Rotary Club of Arusha recently and have met some local philanthropists through there, but would be very interested to learn more about venture philanthropy in the context. In fact, I believe one of the projects Rotary is working on is related to rain water collection, but I will check on the nature of this and get back to you.
As for the Maasai villages, the nets are reaching some (although the very very remote areas we are not getting to). Through the retail network, AtoZ is basically getting as far as Coke/Pepsi, which is surprisingly far out there (no mobile phone networks, no electricity or water). Through some religious communities we worked with for distribution, the nets are also getting out to remote regions (most of the religious organizations have some health programme that will visit villages a few times a year. I was in a Maasai community yesterday, and one of the most interesting things we are finding is that physical distribution is in fact not the problem, but marketing actually is (makes me wonder how the awareness/education of your rain water collection systems has gone). This particular group of Maasai really didn't understand the benefits of a net. No one had ever used one-- making an unknown premium product commercially viable is tough.
If there is a website for your projects, I would love to learn more. Sounds like you are doing such great work for TZ- thanks!
Maasai distributors for nets
- Hi Keely, I couldn't agree with you more about the importance of demand pull vs product push for nets/rainwater collection
- and virtually everything else! I've seen a lot of blood, sweat, and tears expended over many years, in many countries, on "behavior change" and "demand creation". And you know the usual track record of that stuff, it's why I am now such a firm believer in the power of the market dynamic. In fact, before starting work on TVP I headed up USAID's HIV/Aids prevention project in TZ. A big part of our brief was condom sales, so I know a lot about the rural distribution channels here and who can get stuff out to match the kiosk reach of the cigarette & soft drink trade.
Anyway, all my past B,S,& T is why I am so excited about working with this particular entrepreneur on rainwater collection. He was raised in a traditional Maasai village, but has a good education and his mentors and supporters include a number of prominent Maasai. He's traveled to the US, and really gets the potential for the Maasai and other rural villages to use green technologies to manage their adaptation to cultural pressures. Since he's from INSIDE the culture he also gets how to build outward from existing use/need rather than trying to layer it on from the outside.
Alas, we don't have a website as yet since the focus has been to get things started on the ground with a few small portfolio companies. But I'll send you a copy of the business plan if you want, my email is
Where to buy nets?
Keely, I'm going to be in Tanzania for a couple of weeks this month (June 14th - 25th, 2007) and I will be working in the village of Karanse near Mt Kilimanjaro with a team from Perimeter Church (Duluth, GA). I will also be in Arusha for a couple of days towards the end of my trip. Where can I purchase some of these nets? I would like to purchase several dozen to distribute to the villagers we are working with. Thanks for any help/leads you can provide,
Stephen Wareham www.stephenwareham.com
Maasai distributor for nets
hi i always read your blog with interest as i have been working on the development of a business incubator and venture philanthropy fund for Tanzania. do you have a distribution channel yet for your nets to the Maasai villages? I am working with a Maasai entrepreneur on a distribution company for rainwater collection systems, could be some synergy with nets...