Fizuro, which touts itself as Guyana’s first e-commerce marketplace, was recently launched. The website allows Guyanese to access an array of goods and services from local businesses, using their debit and credit cards.
Its founder and managing director, Dorwin Kingston, who has a background in business intelligence, explained that while Guyana has online marketplaces, there was no e-commerce system in place. He said, in an interview, that Guyanese now have the opportunity of making online purchases locally using their Mastercard, Visa and other major credit cards as well as PayPal, when they shop at Fizuro.
In addition, shoppers can anticipate their purchases being delivered, in some cases, in a matter of hours as opposed to weeks later, which occurs when they buy on Amazon. There is also no need to visit a shipping company to uplift items as Fizuro delivers to their doors.
“A lot of entrepreneurs might not have the ability and the resources to launch a business in its traditional sense; the world is moving to online [shopping]. The cost that it would take to rent a space to sell products, get employees… and the marketing; all these things are taxing and cost resources. [Fizuro] provides the opportunity for them to just sell their products,” Kingston said.
He added that while Fizuro’s Facebook page may advertise products sold by local businesses, it is not a marketing company. These advertisements redirect the public to the pages where they can find the items listed.
Kingston shared what the process would be like for an entrepreneur. “You have a product you want to sell on our website, the first thing we do is take an inventory of your item. … We have a contractual agreement to say that everything is legally binding. We take photos of the items… We are going to list the items on the site for you. All you need to do is have the product so there isn’t a lot of effort that it needs on your part. Once we agree on the pricing, we list the product for you,” clarified Kingston. “There is no cost to [the entrepreneur] in terms of starting, in terms of commission, in terms of monthly fees, it’s absolutely free.”
Fizuro finalizes sales with business owners at prices established beforehand. When a customer makes a purchase, the item is already in stock at the warehouse and it moves to the next step, which is delivery. Listed items include the names of the businesses they are sourced from, should customers want to head to that location.
Kingston is not at all worried that listing where the product was sourced might affect his business if the customer decides to head there instead of purchasing from the site. He noted that the website will be more convenient as purchasers can have items delivered to them rather than making the extra effort of taking the trip themselves.
For entrepreneurs, Fizuro removes the worries of deliveries and customer service, does quality assurance and handles other details towards making a small business successful.
“At the end of the day, our business is set to bring in a level of convenience and reach to both customers and vendors…. The whole idea is for us to be an extension of your business,” he pointed out.
No walk in the park
With no convenient system in place for e-commerce, Kingston, who has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business, an ISO 9000 certification, and experience in finance, marketing and sales, and customer support, admitted it was no walk in the park to set up Fizuro.
He said he faced a lot of “legal hurdles”, particularly with Guyana not having legislation in place. He had started another e-commerce business last year, but didn’t get far enough to register it as he faced numerous issues and dropped the idea in frustration.
However, he wasn’t discouraged. Instead this motivated him to find a way to make it happen. He undertook a great deal of research, consulted with lawyers and tax experts. Kingston pointed out that because of the level of establishment of the bigger companies, the option of e-commerce is provided, but the same cannot be said for smaller businesses looking to offer that option.
“It was a lot of trial and error….but, those are the things we had to focus on and we finally got it,” he said.
Fizuro promises to deliver to customers in Georgetown and its environs within 24 hours. Customers who live as far as Timehri, East Bank Demerara; Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara; Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo and Canal Number Two, West Bank Demerara can expect to receive deliveries in 48 hours. Those who work in central Georgetown can choose to have deliveries made to their workplaces.
To make this possible, Fizuro will have in-house delivery drivers and will also connect with other delivery companies.
By March next year, Kingston is looking to have Fizuro expand delivery services to customers living throughout the East Coast Demerara all the way to Berbice, and other areas like Bartica and the Essequibo Coast.
The managing director shared that his company has created a Care Act, which caters for both vendors and customers. Under this Act, customers are guaranteed a shopping experience that is easy and simple, while vendors are provided the necessary resources to operate without hiccups. The Care Act has three components: fraud prevention, quality assurance and customer support. “Fraud prevention is essentially a list of things we do in the back end to make sure persons aren’t making fraudulent transactions on the site. This includes if someone, for example, steals someone’s card or someone misplaces their card, even if someone finds that card and tries to place an order on our site, we have in-house systems to make sure that that transaction does not complete. The second part of fraud prevention is that… customer’s data and credit card, PayPal, whatever card they are using is secured. We work with companies that are seasoned in the business of ensuring customer’s data is safe. We don’t personally ensure customer’s card information. That sort of thing is handled by a payment processor,” explained Kingston. Though he did not disclose the name of this company, he stressed that it was a credible and notable company which is recognized internationally and has partnered with numerous other international companies dealing in e-commerce.
With regard to quality assurance, Kingston said, Fizuro will have employees check the items by hand to see that the product is as stated in the description. Among the examples he gave are ensuring there are no stains on clothing, no tears or loose buttons and that electronic items are in working order. Inspections are to be done without breaking any seals.
As it relates to customer support, Fizuro can always be contacted via email or phone. Kingston promises that customers can be sure that they will be talking to a real person who is ready and willing to provide the necessary assistance to ensure customer’s satisfaction.
On purchasing a product from the site, customers will receive confirmation emails or calls as well as updates once the item is on its way to them, allowing them to track their purchases.
Kingston has bigger plans for Fizuro. “In the future, what we are looking to do for the company, we actually want to create this regional version of Amazon or e-commerce. As reality is, in the north you have Amazon, in the east you have Alibaba and AliExpress. These are the massive retailers that facilitate large companies’ trade, between the big players in the game and in the Caribbean, we have nobody. We are looking to use Caricom because Caricom already has an established trade network within these countries…. We want to establish this version of e-commerce trade, where you can be in Trinidad and order something from someone who is selling it in Suriname and you can get it, without having to go to the wharf to clear it, because now we have a company that can facilitate this entire process for you…. You can now be running your business from your bottom-house and you’re selling to people in Jamaica and you don’t have to worry about shipping it or taxation,” Kingston said.
According to him, such a system will increase production for different countries in the manufacturing sector because vendors will be able to serve millions of customers.
Kingston is hoping to change the way people from outside of the Caribbean view the Caribbean. He feels people living outside of the region see the Caribbean as a destination away from work and do not see it as a power hub. It is time the Caribbean is seen as part of the intelligence sector, he stated.
Fizuro currently has electronics, jewelry, accessories, clothing, novelty items and beauty and care products for purchase. The range of items is expected to increase in the coming weeks. The website is https://www.fizuro.com/. Fizuro is also on Facebook and Instagram.
