By Lilac Osanjo
The COVID- 19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on informal sector businesses. Despite the challenges and in order to remain afloat Mr. Odhiambo and four of his colleagues developed an innovative table bench that can seat six persons. The table bench has been trending on most social media platforms and has attracted the attention of several politicians including the Deputy President, Dr William Ruto and Machakos Governor, Dr Alfred Mutua.
Odhiambo and his colleague, Dennis Otieno, discussed and demonstrated their innovation to Dr Ruto who proceeded to make an order for five benches. A video of the visit went viral on social media and as a result they have continued to get more orders and support from the general public. For the duo, they were looking to change their lives and to create awareness on their skills. They stress that their innovation promotes the ‘Buy Kenya Build Kenya’ strategy that seeks to grow local industries. The bench was hailed as ’embodiment of perfectionism.’ Due to the increased demand with orders of over Kshs. 2 million in value, Odhiambo has employed more people.
Odhiambo explained that the Coronavirus had badly impacted their business and that they were looking for ways of generating more income and also trying to expose people to their skill. He was driven by inquisitiveness arising from a picture that he saw on the Internet and decided to produce a sample. Odhiambo discussed this with his colleague and together they embarked on producing a prototype. The initial idea was to develop a 3- seater bench and it was from this that they felt that they could developed the other side also to make it into a 6-seater bench. They shared the resulting product on social media on June 10, 2020 and with that their life changed irrevocably.
Odhiambo’s garden bench
The bench, as can be seen in the picture is a single bench with a back rest that can seat three people, when opened. It can seat three more people on the opposite side and has a table in the middle. It has a metal frame and wooden strips. The smooth curved sides are manually curved on a workbench. The metal is painted black and the wood has a varnish finish.
Odhiambo explained that, ‘All of us learned this trade from watching how experienced artisans constructed and renovated furniture. We started with common structures like beds and seats and adopted this new trend lately,’ The bench has not been branded and so it is variously referred to as table bench, convertible picnic table, convertible garden bench and multi-purpose bench.
Pricing is evidently a challenge even for the duo and production cost of the seat is Kshs 5,000. In discussion with the Deputy President, that was widely shared on the social media platforms Odhiambo says that they are selling each bench for Kshs 22,000 and in order to promote them, he requested the DP to pay Kshs 30,000 for each of the 5 benches that he ordered. For those who had been following Odhiambo’s story keenly, initially the bench price was Kshs 7,000. A few days later it was Kshs 22,000 and to others it was quoted at Kshs 25,000. This is similar to the Gikomba entrepreneurs pricing strategy that is three pronged. In Gikomba a sofa set can cost Kshs 15,000 or Kshs 45,000 or Kshs 65,000. The price variation is due to both visible and invisible features.
Odhiambo promised to deliver the 5 benches to the DP within five days, despite the fact that he said each bench took 3 to 4 days to make. It can only be assumed that he will be able to sub contract or work over time to deliver.
The Design Extension Services (DES) model proposed by Osanjo (2012) advocated for access to design and product development by entrepreneurs conveniently and efficiently to them. It was noted that Gikomba sofa entrepreneurs were providing employment to over 3,000 persons some of whom were as young as 14 years. They were making ‘bad’ sofas. Without standards the measurements for sofa from Gikomba were not consistent and contributed to customer discomfort. The wood that some entrepreneurs were using was infested and would disintegrate and cause the sofa to break apart soon after purchase. The use of bad stuffing and poorly stitched cushioning further distressed customers.
The equipment used by the Gikomba entrepreneurs was locally fabricated and was not calibrated. This included wood cutting and shaping equipment. The DES model proposed a stakeholder engagement to purchase the calibrated, precision equipment that would be accessible to the entrepreneurs. Taking the example of Migori Jua Kali centre that attracted support from ITDG and government to purchase equipment for their use. At the DES centre, entrepreneurs would receive training, information, legal and expert advice and all the services they require for their growth and development. The Kenya Bureau Standards (KEBS) needs to develops standards for sofas from the informal sector.
The design and product development in Gikomba is undertaken by a team similar to the Odhiambo bench. They produce a prototype and by the time the prototype is produced, they have come up with a name (brand) for the sofa. This gave rise to sofas named after animals such as buffalo, political parties such as ODM and even persons such as Aga Khan.
For design and development, the Gikomba sofa entrepreneurs employ a ‘trial and error’ process in which they examined a picture or photograph of the sofa and worked on the design as a team. After the first stage, they divide duties as they continued to brainstorm. This process is similar to that of Odhiambo and his colleagues.
Governor Mutua, while congratulating Odhiambo and team, said that he normally buys his furniture from Ngong Road. He however cautioned that customers must be diligent and insist on quality. He noted that,
‘if you insist on quality and diligence, they design for you an equivalent of what you can purchase in imported shops.’
The COVID- 19 pandemic has posed challenges to businesses, but it has also seen several new products in the market and innovation such as the bench. In its short introduction into the market period, Odhiambo and team have over 700 orders for the benches worth over Kshs. 2 million. He has also employed more people in order to meet the demand thus providing a livelihood for those people. The bench joins a long list of products that have been created during the COVID- 19 period.
By Lilac Osanjo is a Senior Lecturer in the School of The Arts and Design, University of Nairobi.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the University of Nairobi.
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