Solutions (427)
Africa has a well-documented agricultural potential. Yet, its farmers struggle in various aspects of their work. This can change with the introduction of technology in the sector.
TroTro Tractor is a digital solution developed by a Ghanaian startup. The platform allows farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to rent agricultural equipment such as tractors, seeders, combine harvesters, and sprayers. It was developed by an eponymous startup launched, in 2016, by Adam Muhammed Muhideen and Kamal Yakub to enable easy access to modern, high-quality agricultural machinery that can help Ghanaian farmers improve productivity and maximize yields.
Through its Android app, farmers and entrepreneurs can create accounts to access the machines available. The machines can be sorted by rental rates, geographical location, and most importantly type of machine. TroTro Tractor also has a USSD code that allows farmers with no access to the internet or living in remote areas to access its services.
The startup also offers training on how to use agricultural machines, technical assistance, and maintenance services. With its maintenance reminders and management reports, it also helps farmers plan and manage their farming operations more efficiently.
According to play store’s stats, the app has been downloaded just over 100 times. This, however, is not considered a good indication of the popularity enjoyed by the solution since most African rural areas lack internet connection and the USSD code may be the most used option.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
As Africa's ecommerce sector expands, a growing number of innovations emerges and more entrepreneurs employ various tactics to secure a spot in competitive markets.
Sharwa, an Egyptian startup's e-commerce platform, enables users to buy and sell items such as clothing, beauty products, and electronics. Founded in 2022 by Alaa Shalaby, Hassan Elshourbagi, and Mohamed Hanafy, the Cairo-based startup has since raised roughly $2 million to fuel its expansion.
"Our goal is to replicate the experience of visiting a hypermarket with family, where everyone adds items to the same cart, benefiting from the low prices that become available. Our clients appreciate our service as a weapon against inflation," remarked Sharwa CEO, Alaa Shalaby.
Downloaded over 100,000 times, the Sharwa app, available on Android, allows users to set up accounts, upload item photos, and provide descriptions to entice potential buyers. Buyers can then browse the offerings and place orders for items they desire.
Upon receiving orders, sellers are alerted and begin preparing the products for shipping. Utilizing the startup's last-mile delivery services, purchased items are directly sent to homes or offices.
The platform incorporates online payment methods, such as bank transfers and payment gateways, to ensure secure transactions within its virtual marketplace. Additionally, users can group orders to take advantage of the best deals by simply clicking the "buy with friends" button. Once completed, these orders will be delivered the next day.
Sharwa also offers a Whatsapp ordering option, where users can chat with a designated number to place and manage orders.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The solution is the result of one of its founder’s experience. The latter was assaulted when he was a student. After his painful experience, he decided to give others the means to quickly inform relevant authorities when they encounter such situations.
Usalama is a digital solution developed by a Kenyan startup. It allows users to alert relevant authorities when they are threatened, assaulted or burgled. The idea for the solution started from an unfortunate experience one of the founders had while still a student.
“One evening while going home I was suddenly surrounded by four men at gunpoint. I sadly realized that there was no way I could call for help. One of them punched me in the gut and as I was writhing in pain they ransacked me. The ordeal lasted for five minutes but afterwards I saw a problem,” explains Edwin Inganji, one of the founders of Usalama.
The solution has an Android app, through which users can register and select people to be contacted in case of emergency. The app uses GPS to pinpoint users’ exact location, which is transmitted to relevant people along with the time of danger facing the user. Four danger scenarios are predefined on the app and the user, in case of danger, can select one of them.
“Our focus as of now is on four types of emergencies: medical emergencies, security emergencies, roadside rescue and gender-based violence. In each of these areas we seek emergency service providers that offer services in the respective sector and sign them up for our platform,” Edwin indicates.
Usalama sends a message with the location of the victim, the location of the rescuers, the three police stations closest to the victim, and the respective paths to the victim. When the contacts to be reached also have the application on their smartphone, they receive distress calls or notification prompting them to open the app and check the emergency.
The app has already been downloaded more than 5,000 times. Its founders plan to launch it in other countries as more countries are faced with insecurity on the continent.
In 2017, Usalama was a winner of the Innovating Justice BoostCamp of The Hague Institute for Innovation in Law (HiiL). It was awarded €20,000 in funding. In 2019, it was also selected for the Westerwelle Young Founders¸ program, which offers access to six months of mentoring and access to the program’s network.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The service was launched on April 1, 2022, by electric car assembler Solar Taxi. Officially, it covers the East Legon and airport area for the time being.
Solar Taxi Ride is an electric vehicle ride-hailing service developed by Ghanaian start-up Solar Taxi. It allows users to travel and move goods from one place to another using eco-friendly vehicles and motorcycles at competitive prices. Its founding startup was launched, in 2018, by tech-policy expert Jorge Appiah.
Through its Android and iOS apps, users can set up their Solar Taxi account to be able to hail the various rides available. Solar Taxi's fleet consists of solar-powered motorcycles, scooters, lounge cars, tricycles, and minivans. The startup offers attractive rates all thanks to its solar technology.
“The company estimates to save the environment of two million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year while saving the average Ghanaian commuted by GH¢10,000 [about $839 each year on transportation cost,” indicated Gilbert Sefa Nuwordu, head of Solar Taxi Ride.
Solar Taxi thus wants to reduce the rate charged by its competitors already on the market by 80%. Nevertheless, Gilbert Sefa Nuwordu was keen to point out that the very high prices of other on-demand transport applications are mainly due to the rising cost of fuel. The solution is not yet accessible in most major cities in Ghana but, its Android app has already been downloaded over a thousand times. These numbers prove that it is on the right track and its expansion could eventually bode well for Ghanaians.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The solution aims to help merchants with their transportation needs.
Garri is a digital solution developed by an Ethiopian startup. It allows shippers to easily and reliably move their goods anywhere within Ethiopia using carriers and drivers approved by the startup. The solution, launched in 2020, has raised $100,000 to support its growth.
It aims to eliminate freight logistics hassles by optimizing and digitizing every aspect of the industry. For that purpose, it developed mobile apps -for Android and iOS devices- to make the process easier. Shippers and drivers sign up and Garri handles driver approval to allow only trusted ones on its platform.
It explains that its “vetted drivers earn more money per trip, have a safer and more flexible work experience, and develop better relationships with transporters and shippers, with increased opportunity to own/operate their own truck.”
“Garri works to find round trips and multileg to minimize empty miles and maximize customer earnings,” it added.
Before booking a driver, shippers need to request a quote via the mobile app or the web platform. Once the price is agreed upon, Garri matches the shipment with the best carrier for the job. Then, when a driver is assigned to the shipment, the startup notifies the requester, who can then track the delivery in real-time. Upon successful completion, all paperwork is handed to the requester.
In 2022, Garri was selected among the 60 startups to participate in the second cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa, receiving a share of the $4 million support dedicated to the participants.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Sourcing supplies has always been a challenging task for informal traders. The solution aims to address those challenges since its founder knows them very well for being the son of an informal trader.
Alerzo is a b2B solution developed by a Nigerian startup. It allows informal traders to easily source their supplies online. The startup, which founded the solution, was established in 2019, by Adewale Opaleye. Since its inception, it has raised about $16 million to improve its technology and accelerate growth.
“I started Alerzo to help my mom, a single mother who ran two informal retail stores to support me and my three siblings. Before Alerzo, she had to close her shop and travel for hours to buy inventory to stay in business. [...] Women are often victims of theft because street boys know retail store operators often carry cash. I wanted to apply what I learned in China to make life better for working mothers in Nigeria,” explains the founder.
Through its Android and iOS apps, merchants can easily access Alerzo's services. They first need to create their accounts. Then, they can browse the registered wholesalers, stock up in just a few clicks and get their goods delivered for free within 24 hours. “With Alerzo, informal retailers can receive and make cashless payments, track store profitability better and facilitate a portfolio of digital services,” the platform reads.
In 2021, the startup had a team of fewer than 250 people (according to Crunchbase data) and was working with about 150,000 informal merchants. In March 2023, it decided to lay off some of its staff because the economic environment in Nigeria was not what it projected it to be.
“Given previous market dynamics, we hired very aggressively during the past couple of years to fuel quick growth and expansion across the country. This does not align now with the economic environment today, so we, unfortunately, had to make changes to our business to be more focused around pursuing strong unit economics,” it said in a release.
Despite this lean period, Alerzo is not giving up on its expansion plans. The Nigerian e-commerce platform wants to expand across Africa and beyond.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The solution was launched in Guinea under the brand name Evatis. However, its founder chose to continue the project to ease access to healthcare in his country, Djibouti.
Medyc is an e-health solution developed by a Djiboutian start-up. Thanks to integrated videoconferencing tools like Zoom and Google Meet, it allows access to healthcare for its users. It also offers specific services to companies and institutions.
The solution has no mobile applications yet, so users can access its services only by visiting its web platform. New patients have to register first before accessing those services. To book a service, individual users only have to log in -if they already have an account- and click on the “book an appointment” button in the upper right corner, select the service, the date, and the time. The services they can access range from teleconsultation to home care and medicine delivery.
Companies and institutions can access consulting services that support the development of personalized wellness programs for their employees. The healthtech solution also helps them digitize existing physical health records and even trains their teams on how to access those digital records. Medyc also enables hotel guests to receive medical consultations, care, and drugs during their stay.
According to the founder, Moubarik Mahamoud, about 30 patients are currently using Medyc's services. He says the Healthech solution, founded in 2019, is still in its pre-launch phase and collecting feedback to improve its services. It is also carrying out actions to allow easy access to its services for people without access to the internet. “Internet penetration has improved significantly thanks to pricing efforts. We are discussing with our telecom operator to make the platform data-free with our incubation center, CLE, which is leading the negotiations,” Moubarik Mahamoud told We Are Tech Africa.
Since its inception, the solution has completed a €107,000 funding round to support its growth. Apart from Djibouti, it is currently targeting the Ethiopian and Somalian markets since they are closer to its prime market and the demand for quality health services is growing in the regions. Another factor that motivated his choice for Ethiopia and Somalia to be the next stage in Medyc’s growth is the constant improvement of telecom infrastructures in those markets.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In recent years, companies have been using technology to facilitate access to several services. Insurance companies are no exception to the rule. They leverage digital tools to create solutions tailored to the needs of their target populations.
Naked is an insurtech solution developed by a South African start-up. It allows users to access tailor-made insurance for their cars, homes, or personal properties. The Johannesburg-based startup behind the solution was founded in 2016 by Sumarie Greybe, Alex Thomson, and Ernest North. Since its launch, it has raised about $27.6 million to improve its technology and expand into new markets.
The insuretech solution wants to make insurance more accessible and convenient, by using AI. To achieve its goal, it has set up a mobile app available for iOS and Android users. Thanks to its conversational agent, it helps users opt for the policies most suited to their needs.
Once they select the policies they want, they are shown the subscriptions to pay. "...We use AI (rather than brokers and call centers) to run and manage your policy, these cost savings are directly passed on − meaning lower premiums for you," the platform reads.
Apart from Rose, the conversational agent that helps select the most suited policies, the solution also has other conversational agents that intervene in specific situations. For example, for claims, the user will interact with Jade. "For normal claims, Jade, our Naked claims chatbot, guides you through the simple process and will ask you a few questions. It can approve some claims instantly. For others, someone will call you back for more details," the platform explains.
With its promptness and efficiency, Naked has convinced many South Africans. The Android version of its mobile app has been downloaded over a hundred thousand times. In 2019, it won the App of the Year award at an event organized by the telecom operator MTN.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
After the suspension of the on-demand transport company Yango in Cameroon last February, local engineers and the Cameroonian diaspora launched an alternative to fill the void left behind.
On Monday, April 17, 2023, a new digital car and cab booking service launched its activities in Cameroon. Deployed by the start-up Intelart Technology founded by Lamine Nyamoutet, Ongo is currently available in the cities of Yaoundé and Douala. It facilitates urban and interurban travel in Cameroon.
“We will initially offer our services in the political and economic capitals but we plan to extend the services to all the 10 regions in Cameroon,” said Didier Ndengue, Intelart Technology’s public relations officer.
The solution has a mobile app -Android and iOS apps- through which users can register and access its services. With the account, a user can choose his/her destination. The app will then suggest the driver closer to the departure point and, if the user agrees with the estimated fare, he/she can confirm the trip.
The transport fare depends on the type of vehicle chosen. Apart from on-demand transport services, Ongo also offers vehicle rental services for events such as weddings and family celebrations. Several types of vehicles are available for rent, depending on users’ financial capabilities.
Since its launch, the Android version of the mobile application has already been downloaded over a thousand times. Despite competition from Gozem, Ongo is on track to possibly fill the void left by Yango, which was suspended by Cameroonian authorities last February.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The ecommerce industry has recorded an impressive boom in Africa, in recent years. Digital tools have become undisputable tools in the industry, leading even informal companies to enter the bandwagon. Tech entrepreneurs are offering suitable solutions to help them.
Cartona is a B2B platform developed by an Egyptian startup. It allows retail merchants to source from FMCG companies and wholesalers at competitive rates right from a mobile platform. Since its launch in 2020, it has raised over $16 million to support its growth.
“The trade market is completely inefficient and it’s not good for the supplier or the manufacturers, and it’s definitely not good for retailers.[...] So we came up with the idea of Cartona, which is basically a fully light-asset model that connects manufacturers and wholesalers to retailers,” said its CEO, Mahmoud Talaat, in 2021.
To access the list of suppliers and opportunities on the platform, users need to download its mobile app -available for Android and iOS devices- to create their accounts.
Cartona charges commissions on orders. It also collects fees from wholesalers to list their ads and provide information on retailer behavior, competition, and market information that would help wholesalers adjust their sales policies.
It also offers access to credit for its more than 60,000 retailers and over 1,500 wholesalers. It has signed partnerships with more than 250 companies to establish a one-stop shop that thousands of retailers can use daily to buy small or large quantities of products. However, expansion is not yet on its agenda.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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The fintech startup, founded in 2016, accessed venture financing in 2020. Since then, it has become somehow unstoppable despite the coronavirus pandemic and the small size of its domestic market.
Lupiya is a fintech solution developed by a Zambian startup. It allows easy access to microloans for individuals and businesses. The startup behind it was founded, in 2016, by Evelyn Chilomo Kaingu and Muchu Kaingu. Based in Lusaka, its goal is to expand access to credit and reduce the cost of borrowing for all Zambians.
“We aim to level the playing field for all Zambians by offering low-cost lending products and attainable options for security. We distance ourselves from traditional lenders by being accessible to marginalized and unbanked communities and offering lending practices that are transparent and fair,” the startup says on its web platform.
Currently, it has no mobile app so everything happens on its web platform. On the platform, a user can fill out a form stating the desired loan amount or loan type and the estimated repayment duration to check eligibility. Once the startup replies, the user can then proceed with account creation, upload the required documents and apply for the loan.
Once the loan is processed, users are always notified. The startup charges up to 59 percent interest on its loans.
According to its CEO, Evelyn Kaingu, it started with just $500. That amount was lent to “a small community”, from there on, things moved with the startup acquiring its first hundred clients, and then more.
Since its launch, It has raised over $2.5 million to accelerate its growth in Zambia. It has helped smallholder farmers boost yields, improve soil health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These efforts caught the attention of Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States of America, during her visit to Zambia in late March 2023.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
With its flexible rent payment solution, the proptech has revolutionized the sector in main Nigerian cities.
Rent Small Small is a proptech solution developed by a Nigerian startup founded in 2017. It gives landlords the possibility to delegate the management of their properties to real estate professionals. It also brings trust to the real estate industry by allowing renters to rent from reliable agencies only. Since its creation, it has raised over $3 million to accelerate its growth in Nigeria.
To access its services, a user needs to create an account on its web or mobile -Android and iOS- platforms. They can then browse the listed properties, including single-family houses, apartments, or even studios of different standings. After browsing the various listings, the user can schedule visits to choose one property over another. Visit scheduling is possible only for certified accounts, i.e accounts with a premium subscription.
Rent Small Small also saves legal, brokerage, and agency fees for users. It also offers flexible rent payment ways for users.
The proptech led by Tunde Balogun claims to have provided more than 25,000 monthly stays in 18 different locations and saved tenants more than NGN1.4 billion ($3 million) in legal fees. In 2021, the startup was selected to participate in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator program.
“We have stayed away from institutional investment for the past 3 years because we wanted to figure out a model that truly solves the rental problems and one that we can scale. Now that we have good traction and our solution is loved by both Landlords and Tenants, we need strong mentorship for our next growth phase. We believe that participating in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator at this time is right for us. Its network, skills, and resources are what we will be able to leverage as we expand,” Tunde Balogun said at the time.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Despite being the continent that possibly contributes the least to carbon emissions, Africa is paying a heavy price. In that context, local entrepreneurs are devising solutions to help mitigate and address global warming.
Plstka is a digital solution developed by an Egyptian start-up. It allows users to exchange their solid waste and used oil with coupons entitling them to discounts on services.
The solution has a mobile app -available for Android and iOS devices. Through the app, users can register for Plstka services. Once they accumulate waste, users have to segregate them into the three available categories, namely plastic, aluminum, and electronic waste. Then they can notify the startup and get feedback on when the Plstka teams will collect the waste. After collection, users receive coupon codes that give them discounts in restaurants, bars, etc.
According to its CEO Ahmed Elnagar, the solution aims to collect some 1,500 tons of waste, helping more than 100,000 households monetize their waste while preserving the environment. In 2021, the startup behind the solution raised an undisclosed volume of funding to cover the whole of Egypt.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Small-scale farmers, for various reasons, are sometimes unable to sell their crops. To improve their conditions while supplying fresh products to those who need them, a tech entrepreneur has set up a tailor-made solution in Senegal.
Bayseddo is an agritech solution developed by a Senegalese startup. It is a business-to-business e-commerce platform that connects farmers who need financing with individuals who want to invest in their farms. By investing in farming projects, investors take shares valid for 12 to 24 months.
"When you leave one city for another on the African continent - from Dakar to Saint-Louis in Senegal for example- we [always] see roadsides littered with thousands of hectares of undeveloped farmland while news about famine, unemployment, or food imports abound. Whereas in Europe, when you leave a city for another (Paris - Havre), roadsides are littered with thousands of hectares of exploited, eye-catching green land. The alternative agriculture financing initiative Bayseddo 2.0 was born from that observation," said Mamadou Sall, founder of Bayseddo.
The solution has an Android app, which is not on PlayStore. Through the app and the web platform, users can register to access the services Bayseddo offers. Farmers can access financing through the startup's partner banks. Merchants can get fresh products at competitive prices, have them delivered timely, and pay via mobile money or cash on delivery.
The solution is always looking for ways to deliver more impacts in Senegal, the sub-region, and the African diaspora as a whole. Thanks to that approach, it has distributed more than 4,500 products and has over 275 resellers and partners with some 530 farmers.
Its assumed mission is to set an inclusive partnership framework allowing Africa to feed itself. In November 2018, It was selected among forty Senegalese startups for government funding via a funding vehicle designed to develop the local tech ecosystem. With $2 million earmarked for the entire cohort, Bayseddo was awarded $100,000 to support its growth.
Adoni Conrad Quenum