Solutions (520)
The coronavirus pandemic turned lives upside down everywhere, forcing habit change in almost every sector. It also accelerated digitalization and innovation, with local entrepreneurs developing solutions to address their compatriots’ pain points.
OnilBox is a Tanzanian startup that helps users find nearby training studios, gyms, etc, and book fitness activities and events. It was launched by Natalino Mwenda, in 2021, during the coronavirus pandemic to help fitness enthusiasts find gyms and similar facilities to work out in uncrowded locations.
“The concept originated amid COVID-19 from a garage CrossFit gym that users wanted to access to escape crowds. Users called to make bookings and as the calls continued to increase, OnilBox built an app that allowed users to book a room instead of calling. One room expanded to four, gyms joined the network, and activities also joined the network, allowing OnilBox to offer the largest fitness experience in Tanzania and Zanzibar,” Natalino told Disrupt Africa.
Through its Android and iOS apps, users can search available locations and activities to book their sessions. They can filter the desired results by the number of people and desired session duration. To diversify its offer, the startup introduced smart gyms powered by IoT.
Unlike traditional gyms that require monthly subscriptions, OnilBox operates a Pay-as-You-Go model. Its timer counts down the session duration and even unregistered users can use its services. Currently, the startup claims over 100 users and 2,000 workout sessions and locations booked. It plans to expand to other countries including Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, and Rwanda.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In the music business, streaming has gradually taken precedence over music downloading. In Benin, a local startup wants to promote local audio content producers via that method.
DingaStream is a digital streaming platform developed by a Beninese eponymous platform. The platform, unveiled to the public in August 2021, allows users to listen to pan-African music. Its stated ambition is to showcase local audio content creators and let them monetize their productions.
“I made an ideological choice to create a product meeting the For Us by Us principle. For that purpose, I decided to recruit an African workforce, work in Africa, and produce for the African public with a focus on the Beninese audience because I have my roots and my activities there. Nevertheless, we are focused on Africa,” explains DingaStream founder Miguel Kpakpo.
For the time being, DingaStream is accessible through its web platform and Android app. To access its streaming services, users must first register and buy a monthly or quarterly subscription. A monthly subscription costs XOF2,000 (about US$3.11) against XOF5,000 for a quarterly subscription, payable via bank cards or mobile money. Artists are paid XOF3 per play.
Besides music streaming, DingaStream allows exclusive previews, podcast streaming, and offline listening.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Artificial intelligence helps address numerous economic challenges. In the agriculture sector, which is the main source of employment and livelihood in developing countries, it contributes to the improvement of agritech solutions.
Agrix Tech is a digital platform developed by the eponymous Cameroonian agritech startup. The app helps small farmers efficiently treat plant diseases, control weeds, and fight crop pests thanks to artificial intelligence.
According to Agrix Tech founder Adamou Nchange Kouotou, “in developing countries, most small farmers are self-taught with no proper skills in the management of crop diseases and pests.”
Hence the development of Agrix Tech. The platform has an Android app that allows farmers to register for its services. To get plant disease management recommendations, farmers scan the affected plants using the Agrix Tech app and let the startup automatically analyze the video collected and send adequate recommendations.
The platform can also help farmers determine the best crops for a said soil, the best farm maintenance techniques, and best practices. To allow farmers with low literacy, or even illiterates, to access its services, the app integrates speech and text recognition technology that can identify several local languages.
The startup offers its services to small farmers for free. But, to generate revenues for its operations, it sells ad spaces and user licenses to agriculture consulting firms.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In major African cities, it is difficult to find rental offices and houses meeting the desired options. To address that issue, a Ghanaian startup developed a platform catering to the local real estate market.
MeQasa is a digital real estate marketplace developed by a Ghanaian eponymous startup founded in 2013. It allows users to buy or rent real estate properties meeting their needs within a reasonable period.
In 2015, the Ghanaian startup raised US$500,000 to support its growth. MeQasa “ has a strong platform in place and is quickly progressing in what we see as a truly dynamic market in West Africa. The combination of our own online classifieds experience across emerging markets, along with meQasa’s passion and commitment, makes for a powerful combination and opportunity to build an industry-leading business in Ghana and beyond,” said Shaun Di Gregrio, CEO of Frontier Digital Ventures which invested at the time.
For a stronger impact, MeQasa developed mobile apps (available on Playstore and AppStore). It allows users to filter real estate properties all over Ghana, from Accra to Osu. The user can also filter properties by price, property type, etc. When results are displayed, users can click on selected properties to get all the information required to proceed further. The digital marketplace also has a blog discussing proptech-related subjects.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Currently, in Africa, some SMEs still use inefficient expense management tools. In South Africa, Sava Africa wants to change that by introducing automated accounting tools.
Sava, also Known as Sava Africa, is a digital platform developed by South African startup SAVA Technologies Inc. It offers automated accounting tools that allow SMEs to improve expenditure management.
SAVA Technologies Inc. was founded, in 2021, by Yoeal Haile, Federico Von Bary Landesmann, and Kolawole Olajide. According to Kolawole Olajide, Sava “will help business owners manage their finances and solve some of the pain points they’ve faced from using disjointed financial software tools.”
For the time being, the platform has no mobile app. It is in its pre-launch phase and to access its features, notably virtual card issuance and budget/cash flow management, users currently have to join its waitlist. The fintech also offers quick credits with flexible repayment plans. Recently, it completed a US$2 million pre-seed round to develop new products. It plans to officially launch operations in South Africa in the third quarter of this year and enter the Kenyan and Nigerian markets later.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In Africa, startups offer a wide range of services and solutions to address the population’s needs. Movemeback wants to connect talented diaspora members to “high potential opportunities” in Africa.
Movemeback is a digital platform developed by UK incorporated company Movemeback Ltd. It connects members (namely leaders, influencers, and top talents) to high-impact social and entrepreneurial career opportunities.
For the time being, the platform has no mobile app. To join, users will have to visit its website, submit an application and wait for approval (subject to screening). Movemeback wants “to drive positive economic and social growth in Africa by providing an internationally trusted platform through which individuals, organizations and institutions across the world interact and partner with Africa.” For that purpose, it focuses notably on facilitating collaboration between its members.
Africa “has so much diversity, unmet and undiscovered need but even more interestingly untapped and uninitiated talent. The story is colorful, it’s multifaceted and through the process of the crowd, we intend to share it in high definition,” it explains.
In August 2020, Movemeback Ltd (incorporated in 2014), was among the 11 African startups to participate in “The Future is Female” mentorship program.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In the Ivorian language Bambara, Julaya means “trade”. It is now the name of a startup that facilitates payments. Currently, it claims hundreds of users in some regions.
Julaya is a digital platform developed by Franco-Ivorian startup Julaya SAS, founded in 2018, by Charles Talbot and Mathias Léopoldie. It allows users to make payments to mobile money and bank accounts right from one single platform.
The platform “allows our clients to facilitate their accounting. They, therefore, improve their operating efficiency by automating staff, daily expenditure, and supplier payments. Our solution is plug-and-play with no tech skill requirement. It can thus be used by financial departments, which are still poorly digitalized,” explains co-founderMathias Léopoldie.
Through its Android app, payments can be sent in record time. However, users will have to create a Julaya account and load it via partner banks, telecom operators, and fintech to access the feature. In Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, Julaya accounts can be loaded via at least 10 banks.
According to Julaya SAS, over 300 directors of financial affairs and managing directors use the solution daily. In addition, the solution has processed more than 100,000 payments and salaries, helping save more than 300 hours of waiting time. The startup claims to have customer service available every hour of the day.
Currently, its fees vary between 0 and 2 percent per transaction depending on the transaction type. Since its creation, the startup has completed several funding rounds totaling US$2.7 million, from angel investors and venture capitals like Orange Ventures, to support growth.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The startup claims over 15,000 farmers supported in Mali and Uganda. Its ambition is to expand further in the African market, starting from Côte d’Ivoire.
OKO is a digital platform developed by Malian startup OKO Finance Limited, founded in 2018 by Raphael Haziza, Shehzad Lokhandwalla, and Simon Schwall. It helps smallholder farmers access affordable crop insurance.
“OKO is a different type of for-profit business making a global impact one farmer at a time. [...] We provide effective, affordable insurance to farmers in emerging markets and deliver instant claim settlements. By leveraging the increasing influence of mobile technology, we aim to help overcome income distribution insufficiencies for those who feed the world," the startup explains.
Therefore, with just their non-smartphones, users can access OKO crop insurance services. To enable that feature, the startup signed numerous partnerships with Orange Mali, and German financial services multinational Allianz to optimize its products. It assesses the risks and set subscription prices based on detailed weather information.
The platform is accessible via a USSD code, and a mobile app. The mobile app is an alternative to the USSD code. It also has a programming interface that allows partners to access relevant information. It has a set of tools (for reporting, performance tracking, and secured archiving) to improve the management of its various insurance policies.
Thanks to the crop insurance initiative, OKO Finance Limited has received several awards and recognitions. These include the international award at Finance for Tomorrow's Climate Finance Day in November 2019, the FinTech Showcase 2019 award at the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) Global Policy Forum in Kigali, Rwanda, the Job Creation Award at the Seedstars 2019 Summit organized in Johannesburg by the African Development Bank (AfDB). Since its creation, the startup has completed several rounds totaling US$2.1 million to support its growth. Currently, it is active in Mali and Uganda. It plans to enter the Ivorian market in the next few months.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Logistics is a real challenge in most African countries. To address those challenges, a Nigerian startup is leveraging technology and micro fleets.
Kobo360 is a digital logistics platform developed by an eponymous Nigerian tech company. It connects truck drivers with freight companies to ensure a quick delivery. The tech company founded in 2017 by Ife Oyedele and Obi Ozor, is active in seven African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Uganda, Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso.
According to Wale Ayeni who led IFC’s venture capital investing group in Africa for over five years, “Kobo360 is empowering and enhancing the capacity of the vast underserved network of “micro” fleets in Africa to serve the huge unmet long-haul freight needs of large enterprises and SMEs, delivering value to both sides.”
To fulfill its mission, Kobo360 has developed a mobile app, available on AppStore and PlayStore. The app allows transporters and clients to access all the services it offers once they register. Thanks to its mobile and web platforms, it guarantees clients fast and efficient freight transportation and allows them access to a vast network of warehousing, customs clearance, and freight forwarding partners. It also enables real-time tracking. It allows transporters to boost their revenues above-average rate, expand their trucking business and get discounts for diesel and tire purchases.
The startup currently claims over nine billion kilograms of freight transported, more than 50,000 active trucks, over 150,000 jobs created and some 700 companies served. In 2019, the Africa CEO Forum Awards awarded it the ‘Disrupter of the Year’ award for its quick and significant success in the logistics sector. The same year, its co-founder Obi Ozor was named 'Young Business Leader of the Year' and 'Innovator of the Year'. In 2020, during the AppsAfrica Awards, Kobo360 won the ‘Mobility Award’, outcompeting distinguished African startups operating in the same segment. Since its creation, it has completed several funding rounds totaling US$37.3 million to support its growth.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Thanks to digitalization, it has become easy for African entrepreneurs to create solutions for major challenges. In Uganda and Kenya, a fintech startup is helping address the low credit access problem.
Tugende is a Ugandan startup that allows informal entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprise owners notably, access to credit. Doing so, the startup founded in 2013 by Michael Wilkerson helps them grow their businesses, build their credit profile and set up income-generating activities.
“90% of businesses in Africa are MSMEs yet they receive less than 20% of total available credit. Tugende began by filling this credit gap for motorcycle taxis in Uganda, helping these self-employed entrepreneurs own instead of renting their key productive assets in 24 months or less,” the startup explains.
Its services are accessible through its Android app. To request a loan from Tugende, users must be registered and have an account with the startup. If those conditions are met, they can submit a loan request and let Tugende carry out a background check by interviewing two of their relatives. After that step, they are required to deposit at least USh100 (about US$0.027) in the account opened with Tugende.
The startup’s decision to grant loans is based on background checks and a big data and artificial intelligence system that predicts how beneficiaries will likely use the credits awarded.
Currently, Tugende claims 52,000 users financed, over 29,000 active clients, and 800 full-time jobs created. In May 2022, it won the financial inclusion awards during the sixth edition of the African Banker Awards. Since its creation, the startup has completed several funding rounds totaling US$51.1 million. Apart from Uganda, it is also active in Kenya.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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Although they are still lagging compared to their western peers, Africans are actively participating in the ongoing digital transformation. In Benin for instance, a tech entrepreneur is leveraging technology to help the population easily access some services.
Ylomi is a Benenise startup that connects artisans with potential clients. The startup was founded in 2018 by Jean Vivien Dah N’Gbekounou following the latter’s scornful experience.
“ In 2016, during a prolonged outage period in Benin, I had a hard time finding a mechanic who would repair my broken generator. The only one who was referred to me conned me by charging three times the normal repair costs without even doing what I wanted him to do. This experience, which is common to most Africans, plunged me into deep reflection, leading to the creation of Ylomi,” Jean Vivien explains.
The services offered by the startup are accessible through its web and mobile platforms (the mobile app is available on AppStore and PlayStore). Users can either register as artisans or clients. In either case, a set of information is required.
The artisans approved by Ylomi offer various services including TV repair, plumbing, massage, etc. In Cotonou, the startup claims 458 professionals, 153 in Abomey-Calavi, and 73 in Porto-Novo.
Let’s note that Ylomi has public liability insurance for domestic workers and service providers offering their services via its platform. This way, it can protect both artisans and clients from problems that may arise in the course of their dealings.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Digitalization is gradually taking on every aspect of human life in Africa. It helps address several issues and helps reduce the time necessary to complete processes that would take days, months, or years. In Togo, a proptech wants to do the same in the real estate industry.
Togo Home is a digital platform launched by the Togolese eponymous startup in January 2022 by Edmond Joseph Messan (photo). It allows users to easily find real estate properties meeting their desired characteristics.
“With digitalization taking on every aspect of human life, we estimate that it would be useful to develop a platform allowing every trained real estate agent licensed by the state to submit updated offers. That way, our compatriot will only have to input the characteristics of the property they need, check the available properties and their prices, discuss the terms then visit the chosen property before concluding the deal,” Edmond says.
The platform has a mobile app, available on AppStore and PlayStore. It lists all the real estate properties available for sale or rent with all the information needed. Users can filter those properties depending on what they intend to do (rent or buy), where they want it, and the type of property they need. Once a user clicks on a listed property, more pictures are shown with a phone number to contact to proceed further.
Let’s note that to access all of Togo Home’s features, users need to register by filling in the required information (name, email address, and phone number). The platform claims to be the leading real estate search engine (note: Google de l’immobilier in French). To be the first actor informed of any real estate property available in the country, it signed a partnership agreement with the Togolese association of real estate agents.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The informal sector is an important segment of the African economy. Yet, actors are most of the time left to fend for themselves for various reasons. In Angola, an entrepreneur has decided to digitize the sector with a virtual marketplace.
Roque Online is a digital platform developed by Angolan eponymous startup founded in 2018 by Geraldine Geraldo. It is a virtual marketplace allowing traders to take their businesses to the next level. Its name is inspired by Roque Santeiro, a famous Angolan market active between 1991 and 2011.
“Our focus is to help anyone compete effectively in modern society. Whether you’re an informal market vendor, small business owner, or a large distributor, you can download our mobile application and start registering your inventory so we can start monetizing it on our website or through our partners’ e-commerce channels,” the startup explains on its platform.
The digital platform has a mobile app available on PlayStore and AppStore. To assess its services, users must first create an account and put up goods and services for sale. To boost the user base, the startup invites market women to offer their goods and services online. That way, it helps create additional income for the women, who were not aware of the existence of an online market where they could reach more clients.
Roque Online has become a reference marketplace to buy almost anything and get them delivered. From food products to services, customers can access anything they want from informal traders. This allows small family businesses to expand their consumer base and adapt to the changing business environment. In 2019, the startup won the first prize at Seedstars Luanda.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Ushanga is an initiative supported by the Office of the Vice President, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, the various county governments, and the Ministry of Public Service, and Gender among others.
Ushanga is a digital platform set up by the Ushanga Initiative and supported by the Kenyan government. It aims to help women in West Pokot, Samburu, Narok, Kajiado, Marsabit, Baringo, and Turkana sell their beaded accessories online.
Speaking during the launch of the platform, the Sports, Heritage and Culture Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed explained that the platform would expose the women’s “beautiful work” to the world, which will then respect their “intellectual capacity.”
In Kenya, every pastoralist community has its special way to make beautiful accessories. With the platform, they can present such diverse offerings to potential customers in the local market and also to international buyers. Earrings, bracelets, chest plates, rings, and belts are some of the items that will be available on the platform.
According to Hellen Nkaissery, chairperson of the Ushanga Initiative, “as pastoralists’ women, the women who are low in the radar, now they are being lifted up through the support of our government, through the program of Ushanga Kenya Initiative, and we are being put in a platform where other parts of the country have also been supported.”
In the framework of the Ushanga Initiative, the Kenyan government has decided to invest US$4 million to impact the lives of 5,000 women. Those women will be endowed with professional skills, leading to the creation of 60 cooperatives.
Adoni Conrad Quenum