Solutions (573)
The coronavirus pandemic demonstrated the crucial role of digital tools in every sector of the economy. An Ivorian entrepreneur has decided to use those tools to improve the income of informal workers.
Jevebara is a digital solution launched by Ivorian start-up CogIT Business, this year. It allows informal workers to find work and boost their income.
“Our goal was to develop a solution that would help us in our daily businesses, allow everyone to find workers but also enable ‘grouilleurs’ [Ivorian slang for starters, ed. note] to prosper,” indicated CogIT founder, Louis Omgba.
The solution has a mobile app available for Android devices only. Through the app, a user can register either as a job provider or an informal worker by following dedicated steps. Once registered, job providers can post jobs and workers can select the jobs they want. The startup acts like a middleman with an escrow account, which releases the payment to the worker, once the job performed is validated. When the payment is released, the worker can then withdraw via Orange Money, MTN Mobile Money or Wave Money. Since its launch on August 27, 2022, the Jevebara Android app has been downloaded more than a thousand times with a rating score of 4.6 out of 5.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The Nigerian tech ecosystem has been thriving for years now, with solutions designed to make life easier for users in urban regions mostly, given the internet access inequality.
Chowdeck is a digital solution developed by a Nigerian eponymous startup founded in 2021 by Femi Aluko, Olumide Ojo, and Lanre Yusuf. It allows users to order meals from their favorite restaurants and get them delivered fast.
The solution has a mobile app, accessible on Android and iOS. To access Chowdeck services, users have to create an account by providing an email, a phone number, and a password. Once validated, the user can start ordering from the restaurants listed on the platform and get them delivered within 30 minutes. They can order African, Western, and Oriental foods. To allow them more choices, the startup is constantly looking for new restaurants to add to its base.
While it helps users get foods delivered fast, it also helps restaurants reach a broader audience, therefore increasing their revenues. The startup, which claims to have delivered 80,000 meals in the first half of 2022, has been selected to participate in the 2022 summer cohort of Y Combinator. The selection entitles it to up to US$500,000 financing from Y Combinator and access to an investor network that could support its expansion.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Thanks to technology, interesting solutions are being offered in virtually every sector. The objective of most of these solutions is to ease certain tasks.
Sendoff is a digital solution developed by an eponymous South African startup, founded in 2020. It allows users arrange loved ones’ funerals from the deathbed to the burial site.
"The idea struck me when I had to help with a family funeral, it was such a traumatic experience that I thought to myself there has got to be a way to do this differently and simply," Zolani Matebese told Connecting Africa.
Besides its web platform, the solution has a mobile app (available for Android and iOS devices) allowing users to ensure proper funeral preparation with just a few clicks. Pickups, memorial services, and casquet or urn selection are some of the services Sendoff can assist with. It can also help users when a person dies in town and has to be buried in a village.
To be more efficient Sendoff has partnered with many institutions. "What started as a simple funeral app is becoming a funeral platform, a one-stop shop for funerals,” Zolani Matebese indicates.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Thanks to online stores, people can sell their products to more people than they could with conventional methods. Vangovango wants to capitalize on this opportunity to showcase Malagasy ancestral bracelets and jewelry.
Vangovango is an e-commerce platform developed by Malagasy jewelry store Vangovango Gasy, founded in 2018 by Diana Chamia Anjarasao. It allows artisans to sell ancestral Malagasy jewelry made of noble materials.
“Vangovango Gasy was born out of the desire to showcase the Malagasy ancestral bracelet. However, the adventure led us to offer other types of jewelry (necklaces, rings, etc) besides bracelets. My initial goal was to offer a modernized Vangovango. The old style of VangoVango is fine and we do list those types on our online store but, we believed that it was necessary to offer new styles to distinguish ourselves. [...] I am lucky I know how to draw and I am also creative. I generate ideas from my life and my surroundings. Sometimes, I visit museums and attend garage sales in Latin Quarter [in Paris] to hunt for creative ideas. I also visit Maisons-Laffitte and charm sellers at the Diego Suarez market,” indicates Diana Chamia Anjarasoa.
The ecommerce platform showcases pictures of gold, silver, or Sapphire jewelry made by Malagasy artisans. To buy from Vangovango, users need to register on the platform. Let’s note that delivery is free for purchases worth more than €50. Also, the store’s delivery deadlines are a bit long. Depending on the geographic area, it can go from three to sixteen days.
Buyers can pay for their order via numerous means, including Paypal or bank transfer. There is also the option to buy and pay by installments (four installments overall). In 2022, Diana Chamia was selected among the Africa Business Heroes’ top 50 heroes.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Thanks to the technological revolution, the African delivery sector is more dynamic than ever and local entrepreneurs are developing more solutions to help residents and businesses.
Boxconn is a digital solution developed by an eponymous Ghanaian startup. It handles first and last-mile delivery, enabling businesses to quickly deliver their orders.
The startup, which developed the solution, was founded in 2020 by Emmanuel Asamoah, Hafeez Babatunde, Ibrahima Mounkoro, and Nimrod Kgosimore. Since its launch, it has raised US$100,000 to upgrade its solution and expand to additional markets. According to its co-founder Emmanuel Asamoah, Boxconn was founded because the team “realized that businesses needed a central platform to manage all their logistics while getting delivery orders through their very own channels.”
The solution saves businesses of all sizes “a lot [more than US$100,000 per company figures] and helps them build stronger relationships with their clients,” he adds.
Boxconn connects businesses and motorcycle dispatch riders, delivery vans, and cars. It offers 24/7 support, insurance for each delivery booked through its platform until they arrive at their destination, and live delivery updates. Currently, it claims more than 30,000 deliveries processed for 120 businesses.
To improve its services, the startup plans to introduce drone services. For that purpose, it has initiated discussions with potential partners. Boxconn is already active in Nigeria and Botswana. It also plans to enter Mali and add morwe African markets by 2023.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In recent years, African tech entrepreneurs have developed several digital tools to help businesses reach their full potential. This is the case of Kenyan startup Boya which has developed an interesting solution that helps businesses track employee expenditures.
Boya is a fintech solution developed by a Kenyan firm Boya Inc. It allows businesses to issue Visa expense cards and track the expenditures made from those cards via its web and mobile (Android and iOS) apps.
In addition to giving businesses a real-time overview of employee spending and allowing them to quickly activate or deactivate expense cards, the fintech solution offers instant overdraft when needed. The overdraft limit increases proportionally to the transactions made by requesters through Boya.
To quickly address client issues, Boya Inc, which was founded in 2019, has a 24/7 support service for Boya users.
Let’s note that the Kenyan startup has been selected to participate in the 2022 Winter cohort of Californian accelerator Y Combinator. The program is an opportunity for Boya to find additional capital besides the financing it will receive from Y Combinator.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
In recent years, delivery services have popped up in major cities across Africa. They take last-mile delivery to another level, allowing their users to order almost everything and get them delivered to their doorsteps. Nigerian entrepreneurs have decided to do the same by delivering food to busy individuals.
Heyfood is a digital solution developed by an eponymous Nigerian start-up. It allows users to order foods from multiple restaurants.
The solution has a mobile app accessible on Android and iOS. On registration, users can browse the available restaurants, order the foods they want and get them delivered as quickly as possible.
Restaurants can also register on the platform to reach a broader client base. Using integrated features, they can manage and process orders and seamlessly receive payments. It also allows individuals to earn extra income by delivering orders.
Let’s note that Heyfood, an Ibadan-based startup founded in 2021, collects US$1 per order delivered. Its Android app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. Currently, it is rated 3.9 out of 5 on Playstore. In 2022, the startup was selected to participate in the winter cohort of Californian accelerator Y Combinator.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Tech innovations are gradually taking over every sector with solutions addressing existing challenges. In Nigeria, Boomkit is doing the same in the show business.
Boomkit is a digital platform developed by an eponymous Nigerian musictech founded by Abiola Hamzat and Ridwan Jimoh in 2021. It allows independent artists to distribute their music to a wider audience and build an extended fan base.
Thanks to its mobile app - available for Android and iOS devices, Boomkit makes it easy for artists to collect earnings through local bank accounts.
"Royalty collection has always been an issue for African artists, and most African artists end up forfeiting their earnings from music sales. Popular American distribution companies like Tunecore and cdbaby will require an artist to provide a PayPal account before they can process earnings, but unfortunately, PayPal is unavailable in most African countries," Hamzat said.
Artists can also receive funding from their fans through SupportME, a built-in feature. “This creates a new source of revenue for independent artists. With royalty advance, the credit is secured against their projected earnings from music sales,” Hamzat explains.
Boomkit also helps distribute music on all other digital platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Boomplay, Audiomack, and over 150 digital stores. The platform has more than 10,000 users and more than 3,000 songs have already been released. It offers independent artists packages ranging from $0 to $20. Although Boomkit is not yet officially present in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, artists from those countries can use the app to promote their songs. According to Boomkit co-founder Abiola Hamzat, the startup will officially enter Ghana and South Africa soon.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The fintech, which developed the solution wants to help Sudanese users manage the growing devaluation of their local currency. Its ambition is to expand in East Africa, a market of about 500 million individuals.
Bloom is a fintech solution developed by a Kenyan eponymous startup. It helps users save in US dollars and spend Sudanese pounds. The started behind the innovation was founded in 2021 by Ahmed Ismail, Youcef Oudjidane, Khalid Keenan, and Abdigani Diriye. In July 2022, it completed a US$6.5 million funding round to support its growth.
According to Ahmed Ismail, “the plan is to scale in the country and then expand to other markets. We anticipate being in at least one market before the end of the year and a couple more early next year.” Bloom’s ambition is to help Sudanese manage the rapid devaluation of the Sudanese pound.
The fintech has a mobile app, which can be downloaded from AppStore, PlayStore, or its web platform. Users can create free accounts by registering with their phone numbers to start saving. "Banking services are provided by the Export Development Bank, which is licensed by the Central Bank of Sudan and is a member of the Bank Deposit Security Fund of the Central Bank of Sudan," the fintech indicates.
Bloom claims more than 100,000 users. It has strategic partnerships with the likes of Visa, which invested in its funding round for regional expansion. In March 2022, the fintech was selected to participate in the Winter 2022 cohort of the Californian accelerator Y Combinator.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
With the coronavirus demonstrating the importance of distance learning, many companies have set out to conquer the market by deploying significant resources to face the competition from international platforms.
eCampus is an e-learning platform developed by a Ghanaian eponymous startup. It is the modern platform of the startup, which started digitizing courses in 2003 by uploading them on floppy diskettes to allow users to conveniently learn without having to face the rigid traditional education means.
The e-learning platform helps users (students and employees notably) reach their training goals via its web and mobile apps launched in 2015. According to eCampus founder Cecil Senna Nutakor, the whole thing started following its harsh education experience. “I failed my final secondary school exams three times in a row, and all those times I wanted to find a tool I could use to prepare me and let me know if I was ready for the exams. I did not want to believe I was dumb as my parents and uncles thought, because I knew there was just a problem with the system,” he indicates.
eCampus’s mobile is accessible for Android and iOS devices. It allows users access to the resources available on the platform, provided they create an account by providing an email, a password, names and surnames, and referrers (if any).
The solution uses artificial intelligence to optimize students’ revision process by letting them know their strengths and weaknesses. It uses the same technology to help employees assess their preparedness for the job market and the relevance of their skills.
The e-learning platform also allows teachers to earn additional income by helping students and employees. With the coronavirus demonstrating the importance of e-learning, the startup now claims more than 50,000 registered users, including over 25,000 active users and more than 1,719 lessons available. It plans to expand into English-speaking East and Southern African markets and into French-speaking Africa.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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The private health sector is growing rapidly in Africa. However, the sector is still much disorganized, prompting some entrepreneurs to introduce solutions to save as many lives as possible.
Medsaf is a digital platform developed by a Nigerian eponymous start-up based in Nigeria and the United States. It aims to make the pharmaceutical products’ supply chain more efficient by connecting hospitals and pharmacies with drug suppliers. The startup was founded in 2017 by Joao Pinheiro, Temitope Awosika and Vivian Nwakah after one of its co-founders (Vivan Nwakah) lost a friend due to counterfeit drug.
"The lack of proper supply chain infrastructure drives health care stakeholders to the open drug markets to find their medications and consumables.
The gap in the market was due to the absence of an entity properly adressing [...]Issues around how all players in the supply chain interact with each other and the reasons there are severe lapses within the pharmaceutical supply chain. [...] I realized early on that there needed to be a platform to reduce the friction between stakeholders and influence and reward positive behaviors in a sustainable way," Vivian Nwakah explains.
Medsaf is now that platform, a bridge that facilitates the introduction of quality medicines in Nigeria. By 2020, more than 160 hospitals and pharmacies have shopped on Medsaf. The start-up helps acquire everything from diagnostic products to reagents, equipment, and consumables. As such, it acts as a "one-stop-shop for hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centers to purchase, manage, and track their crucial medication needs with technology."
Apart from being a marketplace, Medsaf also offers a range of services including Medsaf Assure, which allows subscribers to purchase products at discounted prices. The startup also plans to roll out Medsaf Speedy and Medsaf Patients direct services. Its plan for Medsaf Patients Direct is to work with a network of doctors to supply their patients with medication for certain chronic diseases. As for Medsaf Speedy, it is intended to be an express delivery service, delivering orders the same day when buyers are in Lagos and within 48 to 72 hours when outside the Nigerian metropolis.
Overall, Medasf plans to expand to West and East Africa in the coming years.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
A few years ago, the African social media landscape was dominated by foreign messaging solutions. However, nowadays, local entrepreneurs are stepping in with local apps that integrate a set of useful features.
Dikalo is a digital platform developed by an eponymous Cameroonian startup founded in 2016. It allows users to discuss without sharing personal information.
It is available as an Android app, which incorporates features (like file sharing, voice, text, video messaging, etc) common to most instant messaging apps. It also includes packs of stickers dedicated to each African country. For instance, there is the “naija” sticker pack for Nigeria or the “zouzoukwa” pack for Côte d’Ivoire.
To register on Dikalo, users need to create a nickname, provide an email and create a password. The app then generates an authentication code to validate the registration. Dikalo does this to protect its users’ personal data in line with its transparent personal data management policy.
Currently, Dikalo, which plans to integrate a mobile money solution into its platform, claims more than 100,000 registered users, including 87,000 active users. "Most of our users come from Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. Our main goal is to become the most used social media app everywhere. My ambition is to grow in countries like South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Algeria ...," says Dikalo founder Alain Ekambi.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
E-commerce has gained momentum in Africa since the Covid-19 period. Numerous platforms have emerged to help the population buy what they need online and allow sellers to sell more. With Kwely, the focus is now on selling more local products abroad.
Kwely is a B2B platform developed by an eponymous startup based in Senegal and the USA. The startup behind the platform was founded in 2019, by Birame N. Sock (photo). It aims to become the Alibaba of products made in Africa. For that purpose, it raised US$1.7 million to carry out its targeted projects.
According to Birame N. Sock, Kwely is a bridge between African producers, global consumers, and international buyers. “The goal is to be Africa's leading B2B e-commerce platform, redefining how African products are perceived and how African buyers and sellers transact with each other and the rest of the world,” she explains.
The best way to become one of Kwely’s suppliers is to enter its incubator program Tekki, which is currently in its second cohort. The program teaches producers how to improve packaging to meet international standards and gives tips to develop a scalable and adequate international business or marketing strategy as well as create effective product storytelling to enter the targeted markets.
Tekki helps producers create an export-ready brand while the Kwely platform offers marketing and distribution services. The products available on the platform include cosmetics, food, and home accessories.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Recently, the e-commerce boom gave a new impetus to a concept that started in the 1970s: dropshipping. Although the popularity of that concept is growing among Africans, there is almost no local platform facilitating the process. Tendo is changing that.
Tendo is a digital platform developed by a Ghanaian eponymous startup, connecting local suppliers with dropshippers. Before Tendo, “people who want to sell online [had] to save money, visit hundreds of suppliers to find a trusted one, and risk losing their capital by stocking up inventory. [They also had] to incur costs for logistics and warehousing,” explained co-founder Felix Manford. With the creation of the startup Tendo (in 2020), all that changed, he added.
The solution addresses additional challenges, allowing any individual who so wishes to become a retailer. "Tendo enables anyone to start their online business without investing any capital," the platform indicates. All the retailers have to do is share the goods listed by suppliers with potential customers. When a buyer places an order with the retailer, the latter simply sends the order and buyer’s details and lets the supplier deliver the order. Once the order is delivered, the retailer will receive the profit he/she generated.
Tendo also has a mobile app (accessible for Android and iOS devices) that allows users to perform all the tasks they can carry out on the web platform. It also allows suppliers to register on Tendo and leverage the retailer network to quickly sell their goods.
From 2020 to date, the Ghanaian startup behind the platform has raised over US$220,000. This year, it expanded into the Nigerian market and got selected to participate in Y Combinator’s winter cohort.
Adoni Conrad Quenum