NAIROBI, Kenya, July 9 – Automotive and tools distributor Car and General (C&G) has introduced new measures to fight the rising menace of counterfeit motor oil infiltrating the Kenyan market.
The firm says it’s rolling out a digital verification platform that can enable clients to authenticate its merchandise in actual time earlier than buy.
C&G’s new system will allow patrons to scan product labels or use a USSD code to confirm the authenticity of things, particularly its motor oils, which the agency says are probably the most focused by counterfeiters.
“You might be stunned to notice that plenty of the problems now we have with counterfeit merchandise are our motor oils,” mentioned George Rubiri, the corporate’s General Manager.
“These pretend oils are sometimes repackaged to look precisely like ours, and this not solely impacts our gross sales but in addition compromises the efficiency of our clients’ autos.”
C&G estimates its month-to-month oil gross sales at round Sh50 million.
The new initiative is anticipated to curb income losses and enhance client confidence in its model.
Kenya faces a serious financial menace from counterfeit items, with the ACA estimating annual losses at Sh800 billion, practically 9 % of the nation’s GDP.
Automotive merchandise, together with electronics, healthcare objects, and agricultural inputs, are among the many most affected sectors.
China stays the main supply of those illicit imports.
The firm hopes that digitizing product verification will assist seal loopholes, a transfer it says will strengthen its market presence.
