※This is a machine-translated text of the original article.

Yamaha Motor announced in 2020 that it would start a demonstration of a distribution business using the company’s retail network platform in Tanzania in collaboration with WASSHA, a startup company launched by the University of Tokyo that aims to build the largest retail network platform in East Africa.

Since 2015, WASSHA has partnered with small-scale daily goods retailers (kiosks) to form retail network platforms, which are the starting point for the daily lives and purchasing behavior of general consumers in Tanzania, and is working on a power services business that rents lanterns for LED-type lighting for residents in unelectrified areas.

In Tanzania and other African countries, high-efficiency logistics systems are not widespread enough, and this is one of the factors that hinder economic growth. Together with WASSHA, the company aims to resolve this social issue and contribute to economic growth in emerging countries by enhancing the efficiency of last-mile logistics through mobile mobility, delivery tracking, and delivery route optimization technologies.

In order to solve social problems in the African market, the company has been selling and servicing motorcycles, fishing boats and outboard engines, boats, generators, small water purifiers, and other products, and providing technical guidance. In recent years, the company has been developing businesses that can solve social problems in Africa and contribute to sustainable growth through its investment in MAX, an on-demand bicycle company in Nigeria, and its cooperation with Astral Aerial Solutions, a drone service company in Kenya.

Original Text: https://ampmedia.jp/2019/12/24/wassha/