Africa is enjoying the benefits of innovation in its different sectors. In Kenya, many shop owners have stopped selling to their customers packaged milk. Today, they have started using a vending machine to help them dispense fresh milk to their customers. This has made it easier for locals to make more money and sell more of their products faster.
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How does this work?
Zaidi Technologies is the brain behind these machines. The company is offering locals an affordable way of making money and taking fresh quality milk. The owners make use of a small panel found on the front of the vending machine to key in the amount customers paid for their milk. Within seconds, milk pours into the bag or plastic bottle that was kept by the customer for milk refuel. People do not have to spend more on milk with these machines. Just like a petrol pump machine, they pay for the amount they can consume daily. It saves them money and helps them avoid waste.
You do not have to be rich to drink milk with this machine. The mentality that only the rich can offer milk ended with this vending machine as it enabled the poor access to milk. These machines create jobs for more Kenyans and help them make more money compared to selling packaged milk products.
A large family can spend less on quality milk for everyone. Since children need more milk to stay healthy, getting milk in Kenya has become easier and better. The locals enjoy fresh products which make the vending machine process a lucrative one.
In recent years, we have seen these vending machines in many informal settlements. The machine eliminates the cost of packaging and reduces its cost. It ensures that the cost of logistics is improved without attracting value-added tax. With the machine, the milk market has reached more people who could not buy or use milk before.
The Disadvantage of Vending Machines
These vending machines often come with challenges in some deprived areas. Often, some people buy a very affordable type of vending machine. Some people may not be able to maintain the machine. This leaves the customers with poor-quality milk. Some residue may congeal or go bad in the system when the machines are not quality.
Power cuts cannot be ignored in any part of Africa, which comes as a disruption of the vending machines’ operations. However, Zaidi Technologies offers business owners solutions like installing vending machines and owning the installed machines.
This allows the business owner to provide cleaning and pay for electricity. At the end of the day, they earn commissions for every milk liter sold. Sometimes, unscrupulous owners may want to dilute milk for more profit. Zaidi Technologies is working on tamper-proof machines to handle this challenge. After pasteurization, drivers deliver the milk containers to shops. The containers are slotted into the vending machines and locked to avoid diluting the milk.
To put these vending machines in other uses, KOKO Networks has created a special machine for supplying local bioethanol cooking fuel. This machine allows locals to pay small amounts for their fuel, especially for those on tight budget
