How a Kenyan spice importer saved 22% on landed costs with AskBiz
"I thought I was making money on every shipment. AskBiz showed me I was losing money on 3 of my top 5 products after duty and FX."
The Problem
Small importers in East Africa face a compounding cost problem. Supplier prices are quoted in USD, freight fluctuates with fuel surcharges, Kenya Revenue Authority duty rates vary by HS code, and the KES/USD rate moves daily. Without modelling all of these together, you cannot know your true margin until weeks after the shipment arrives.
Why AskBiz
Amina tried spreadsheets but couldn't keep up with exchange rate changes and varying duty rates across her 40+ SKUs. She needed something that pulled her real transaction data (from Mpesa and bank statements) and calculated costs automatically. AskBiz was the only tool she found that supported Mpesa natively and let her ask questions in plain English.
The Discovery
Within the first week, AskBiz flagged that 3 of her top 5 products by revenue were loss-making after duty and FX costs. Cardamom pods — her highest-volume product — had a 14% gross margin on paper but a -3% true margin after landed costs. She immediately renegotiated with her supplier and adjusted retail pricing.
The Outcome
Six months later, every product has a positive true margin. She dropped one supplier entirely after AskBiz showed their freight costs were 40% above market. Monthly FX savings of KSh 47,000 came from timing purchases based on AskBiz's currency alerts instead of converting on the day invoices arrived.
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