The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has announced plans to investigate online food delivery and groceries platforms in Kenya following consumer complaints.
CAK acting Director-General Adano Wario in a Gazette Notice Monday said the probe will seek to identify the players and services involved in the food delivery and groceries platforms business model in Kenya.
The Authority will also examine the relationships between the platforms and the users with a focus on the competition parameters and concerns among the players.
“The market inquiry will seek to uncover how food delivery and groceries platforms work in practice and suggest regulatory and policy options for competition and consumer protection enforcement,” said Wario.
“The inquiry will more specifically seek to assess the role of data in operating multi-sided online platforms, customer acquisition, retention as well as data portability, e-payment services and their importance concerning the food delivery and groceries platforms business model,” he added.
Additionally, the investigation will enable CAK to better understand consumer protection concerns to provide redress mechanisms available for consumers when shopping through online marketplaces.
Wario added that the probe will help the agency to better assess the relevance of the existing regulatory framework and its applicability in the digital markets, to guide better policymaking.
enable the watchdog better understand consumer protection concerns to provide redress mechanisms available for consumers when shopping through online marketplaces.
The probe follows consumer complaints such as undelivered orders, bad food, misrepresentation of items, and breach of customer data among others.
