What does Locomade do?
Locomade elevates local kenyan artisans by expanding their market access by providing an online marketplace where they can connect with potential customers directly . We do this by enabling artisan create an online vendor shop where you post your handicraft items.
What does 'Locomade' mean?
We are committed to empowering local artisans who craft and create products from hand and using local sourced materials, and wanted our name to reflect that.
Why did you start Locomade Market?
Artisans today often lack a marketplace for their handicrafts beyond their own Shops.
Online shopping and E-commerce have come to stay. Today with the growth of internet usage, the world is becoming a global village and there is no excuse for not having your products on an online platform. Regardless, many truly talented creative artisans do not have the time or resources to manage both an online store and their overall business. Locomade has the scheme to relieve such individuals of this burden.
Also with many customers desiring authentic, locally and sustainably made products that support local businesses.
With our platform, you can create your vendor shop and we will help you upload and manage your products and connect with customers. Also aiding you with your online marketing, getting both individual and bulk orders from buyers in the world.
We began Locomade because we saw true potential in connecting Artisans from two worlds: Entrepreneurial, talented, inspiring artisans in Kenya with the world at large.
Why Become a Vendor on Locomade?
- You get marketing of your products done by Locomade.
- Secure Marketplace and easy to manage.
- Reach thousands of possible clients/customers.
Prior to Locomade Market, what would happen with the handmade handicrafts?
The handicrafts would be sold to foreign travelers who visited the artisans in the villages or attended the closest town during open market sale days. Sales are generally limited geographically, and buyers aren’t long-term partners. Additionally, handicrafts are used by friends and family in local celebrations and everyday life.
What make Locomade stand out from other online marketplaces?
There are a lot of on-demand marketplace services out there for you to be able to upload your work and sell it. And a lot of those places cater to the consumer. You can upload photos of anything you are selling. But from the very beginning, Locomade was always about the artist, artisans and handmade crafts.
We obviously think about the customer, but we will always put the artist's glasses on first when we make these decisions. What does the artisan need to be successful? How can we design/improve the platform and ensure that the local artisan is able to make sales by trusting our site to refer to his potential clients, and how can this be leveraged by the artists? It’s a cool and rewarding way to do business. We will only be successful when our local artists are successful.