Starting my first project - A Kenyan Firearm safety accessories e-commerce store

Makers!

Y'all are so great for sharing your journeys and I've learnt so much following them. Today I start my first project and I'll build in the open!

It's an e-commerce store to sell firearm safety accessories here in Nairobi, Kenya.

Why?

1. My girlfriend trains people on the safety and use of firearms and almost 100% of her new students have no safety gear like ear and eye protection, holsters etc
2. These items are difficult to get within the country. They're typically sold by other trainers, who typically buy them from 1 existing shop in the city
3. None of them exist online
4. The existing sources are expensive. Buying them retail outside the country, shipping them in and adding a healthy markup will still be cheaper than existing sellers
5. It's low risk, very small niche (firearm owners are very few in Kenya), and I want a side project to get my feet wet.
6. I've openly challenged myself to do it in 3 weeks so it's timeboxed, which will keep me focused and from overengineering
7. Launching an e-commerce store in Kenya isn't as easy as most developed countries. The most common payment system is Mpesa and from my research, there's no platform supporting this out the box. I'm sure a lot of people want this information so it could segway into an info product further down the line

Follow me on twitter to stay up to date!

Here's the first post on my blog