ELIAS BIRYABAREMA AFRICAN start-up Sokowatch, an online supplier of goods to micro retailers, is deploying electric tuk tuks, a first on the continent, that could slash fleet maintenance costs by more than 50%, according to an official. The Kenya-based firm developed an app on which small retailers in east Africa can log orders of various goods to restock their shops. Once the orders are received, Sokowatch then dispatches the goods from its warehouses to the retailers. In a region where cities are plagued by gridlock, with narrow and pot holed roads, Sokowatch adopted the three-wheeled rickshaws as a primary means…