Solutions (583)
During the coronavirus pandemic, the African ecommerce industry grew quickly, affecting related sectors, including the delivery segment whose solutions have multiplied across the continent.
Wiikko is a digital marketplace developed by a Congolese start-up. It connects consumers to various businesses and provides parcel delivery for commercial transactions.
Through its mobile app -available on Playstore and Appstore, users can sign up for a Wiikko account and access the listed stores, including fast-foods, restaurants, and supermarkets.
When users complete their purchase, the startup also takes care of the last-mile delivery, thanks to its delivery drivers. Right from the app, users can provide every information required to ensure smooth deliveries. Wiikko is committed to ensuring that deliveries are made within the hour by trained professionals. "We have helped over 50 drivers provide better delivery service through training. Before Wiikko, most of them were unregistered motorcycle cab drivers," the platform says.
The startup claims more than a thousand merchants on its platform, more than 50,000 delivered orders, some 25,000 users, and more than 16,000 active customers. Play Store data corroborates the user numbers as the Android version of the app has already been downloaded more than 50,000 times.
Currently, Wiikko is active in Kinshasa, the largest city in DRC with 16 million residents. According to founder Eric Bemba, in DRC, the startup targets the 5 million and counting active social media users. It also plans to expand outside the country in a later phase.
“Our vision is to become the pan-African delivery service with one of the largest networks of merchants and delivery partners on the continent to promote sustained, shared, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent employment for all," Wiikko says.
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The solution is the result of one of its co-founders’ experiences. Indeed, when her grandmother got serious burns and was to be hospitalized, there was no one to assist her at the hospital since her parents also had chronic diseases. That is how she decided to create a solution to avoid such pain for others.
Mbombo Home Care is an e-health solution developed by a Cameroonian start-up, founded in 2019. It allows elderly and dependent persons to get home healthcare services.
"Mbombo Home Care assists elderly and dependent people in Cameroon every day. We have a personalized approach to home care and choose the best options to meet your expectations," it says on its web platform.
Currently, it has no mobile app. So, users need to visit its web platform to book its services. Once they click on the “Book an appointment” option on the web platform, users are redirected to a Whatsapp account where they can discuss their needs.
Among other things, Mbombo Home Care offers geriatric and general consultations, nursing and life support services, physical therapy, and even daycare services. The healthtech also rents or sells wheelchairs, anti-scarring mattresses, canes, walkers, and crutches.
In 2021, it had a team of about twenty people, of which 90% were women. They included doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé. Despite the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its activities, it has continued to grow.
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Before launching MyFeda, the Beninese startup behind the solution had developed a popular payment aggregator. This new technology aims to facilitate online transactions.
MyFeda is a fintech solution developed by Beninese startup FedaPay SAS. It allows users to send and receive funds and make online payments anywhere in the world without a bank account.
"MyFeda is a mobile solution that allows you to manage your money daily. Whether your money is on your mobile money account or a card, MyFeda allows you to control all your expenses whatever their nature (online, or in a brick-and-mortar store),” the solution indicates on its web platform.
To access its services, users need to first download its mobile app (Android or iOS version) and create their MyFeda accounts. The process can be completed in just a few minutes.
With MyFeda, users can send and receive funds via mobile money in Benin, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Guinea. They can also send funds via Western Union and MoneyGram or make bank transfers using MasterCard and Visa cards. The solution also provides access to a virtual Visa card.
Each MyFeda account is managed by the Lagos-based pan-African bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), and linked to a card from the same bank.
A monthly subscription fee is required to use the services offered by MyFeda. Since its launch, the Android version of the app has been downloaded more than 5,000 times, according to PlayStore data.
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Senegal held the first edition of “The Digital Week - Senegal Connect” last week, from May 16 to 20. The event, held in Dakar, gave startups the opportunity to showcase themselves before politicians, potential investors, and the general public as a whole. Some of the most promising were celebrated with awards.
Earlier last week, Caytu Robotics won the presidential award for digital innovation during the first edition of The Digital Week-Senegal Connect. The robotics startup, founded in 2020, is thus the second startup to ever receive that award. It seduced the jury with its technology that allows users to remotely control robots from anywhere in the world. With that award, Caytu Robotics went home with a CFAF30 million ($50,000) grant to support its growth.
“Today, remote outsourcing is primarily concerned with non-tangible digital skills such as software and digital content development. CAYTU closes the gap between remote digital outsourcing and onsite physical experience, enabling the distribution of skills and hands-on expertise to distant geographic locations where they are needed. [...] CAYTU’s Robotics Platform is the world’s first crowdsourced Robotics as a Service solution. Our software is robot-agnostic and therefore can integrate any robotics hardware/application through our API,” the awardee explains on its web platform.
Caytu has a mobile app from which users can issue commands. Currently, it is carrying out its pilot phase at Brigham Young University (BYU) in the United States. During that phase, previously selected students and staff can order food at the university restaurant. Once the order is received, in Dakar, the Caytu team remotely controls the robots to deliver the ordered food.
“We implement an AI-Human Collaborative Shared Control approach to put the human touch at the center of robotics and therefore unlock the full potential of robots and create new opportunities for individuals and businesses. We have made teleoperation as intuitive and easy as it can be; simply using our Android & iOS app, anyone with a mobile phone can become a CAYTU Pilot,” Caytu explains.
Brigham Young University (BYU), a private research institution, was chosen to host the pilot phase of Caytu because of robotics professor Benjamin Terry, a BYU professor involved in the project. He joined the project to collect data to better understand human-robot interactions. In the long run, Caytu wants to create a global network of autonomous delivery robots. Still, for now, after BYU, the Senegalese startup intends to expand to other universities around the world.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The entrepreneurs behind the solution first developed a price comparison app before deciding to set up a solution to connect users to good deals and special offers.
Fomo is a digital solution developed by a South African startup, founded in 2020. It allows users access to special offers in restaurants and various leisure places. It uses geolocation features to determine the best deals, restaurants, and leisure spots closest to users.
Users can access its services via its Android and iOS apps. Once they register, they have to grant access to their geographical locations, which is needed to determine the nearest places. Some of the leisure places presented are museums, spas, paragliding, and horse riding destinations.
“We created this app because we were sick of laying in bed on a Saturday or having a lazy Wednesday where we don’t want to cook dinner, asking the age-old question… where should we go for dinner? What exciting activity can we do today?” the founders say.
Apart from allowing its users to find good deals and visit leisure places, it allows the owners of the listed spots to reach a broader audience. Fomo, therefore, advertises businesses that craft special offers, instead of spending on sponsored ads and similar marketing strategies.
The platform is seemingly a great success because, according to Playstore’s data, its Android app has been downloaded more than a hundred thousand times.
In September 2022, the startup signed a partnership with Google to allow users to book or make orders directly from Google Search, Map, or Assistant. "This is a big step for FOMO as we look to increase accessibility for South Africans to make and manage their reservations at their favorite restaurants both on the app, as well as through Google Search or Maps, quickly and efficiently, further stimulating an ailing industry affected by COVID-19," co-founder Jax Marx said when the partnership was signed with Google.
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The solution is the result of a partnership between unicorn startup Fawry and Softec Technologies. It connects merchants with a network of self-employed delivery personnel.
Roaderz, an innovative digital solution created by the Egyptian unicorn Fawry, enables merchants to facilitate deliveries to their customers through a network of independent delivery drivers. The venture was established in 2022 as a collaborative effort between Fawry, Samer Gharaibeh (founder of the delivery startup Mylerz), Ammar Zawaideh (a corporate finance expert), and Softec Technologies.
“Our goal with Roaderz is to create a solution that can also have a broader social impact, by putting smaller businesses on a level playing field with larger competitors, providing couriers with flexible work and income opportunities, and reducing carbon emissions by decreasing the average kilometers traveled by a shipment before it reaches the end-user,” said Fawry’s CEO, Ashraf Sabry, in 2022.
The solution has a mobile app accessible on Android and iOS. Merchants can sign up to access the services offered after downloading the app. To order a delivery, they have to post a request and one of the available self-employed delivery agents will undertake the task.
When the package is picked up, the merchant can see from the application an estimate of the delivery time and follow the package in real time until it reaches its destination. Payments are handled by Fawry.
Since its launch, Roaderz’s Android app has been downloaded more than a thousand times. The solution intends to cover all of the governorates in Egypt but, there is no international expansion plan for the time being.
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The solution aims to contribute to the achievement of some sustainable development goals related to the quality of education and the reduction of gender inequalities.
iSchool is an edtech platform that allows children aged 6 to 18 to learn software development, artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It was developed by an Egyptian startup, founded in 2018, by Mohamed Algawish, Mustafa AbdelMon'em, Ebrahim Youssef, and Mohamed Nabil.
It has no mobile app yet. So, to access its courses, users need to visit its web platform. For 6 to 8-year-olds, it offers a coding program that teaches them programming basics. For kids aged between 9 and 12, it teaches programming languages such as Python or JavaScript. With iSchool, learners aged 13 and beyond start building project portfolios in preparation for their university studies or entry into the job market.
To effectively teach learners, the edtech opted for the STEAM (Science, Technologies, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) methodology, which allows students to learn through experimentation to better assimilate the concepts inherent to each discipline. Classes are conducted in Arabic and English and learners are grouped into teams of 4-6 students of the same age range for 2 hours 30 minutes of learning each week.
In 2018, iSchool was one of the winners of the Bizex startup competition. Currently, it claims more than 10,000 students enrolled, 250 instructors, and more than 650,000 hours of training delivered. According to its data, its students are mainly in Canada, the United States, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, and Palestine.
Since its launch, it has raised $160,000 to develop its platform and expand to other markets in North Africa and the Middle East.
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Africa’s low bancarisation rate is an opportunity for many fintech companies to thrive on the continent. These companies, both local and international, offer interesting solutions to improve financial inclusion.
Kowri is a fintech solution developed by Ghanaian firm DreamOval Limited. It allows access to financial services such as loans as well as fund transfers and reception.
“Kowri Business is an integrated Fintech Platform that simplifies how banks and fintech acquire merchants, switch transactions and process local and international remittances to and from any Money Transfer Operator,” DreamOval indicates on its web platform.
Users can access Kowri's services from its mobile application, available on Android and iOS. Once they create their Kowri account, they can access services like fund transfer, airtime, and data top-up as well as utility bill payment.
With its Kowri Business feature, it gives users the possibility to collect payment across mobile and digital channels. By signing up for the service, businesses “get access to a unique payment link, USSD code, QR code, and their own back office portal to enable them to collect payments across multiple mobile money wallets, cards, and cash.”
Through its Kowri Protect feature, the solution offers free insurance coverage to merchants that use the business feature. “Kowri Protect is an insurance solution designed to protect your store against various natural disasters, burglaries, fire, floods, and more,” Kowri indicates.
In May 2023, the solution signed a partnership with US-based student loan provider Mpower to offer loans to African students pursuing Master's degrees in Canada and the US. It plans to expand across Africa but, to achieve that plan, it may have to organize funding rounds.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
African tech entrepreneurs are increasingly coming up with homegrown solutions to improve the daily lives of professionals in various sectors. Proptech, while not as prominent as other tech sectors, has its share of innovations.
reOS is a cloud-based proptech platform developed by a South African start-up. It helps rental professionals, agencies, and freelancers automate most of their monthly tasks such as billing, collections, payments, communications, and reporting. The Cape Town-based startup was founded in 2018 by Craig Buckley.
“There has been a great deal of excitement surrounding rental technology in recent years, with several new entrants to the industry. However, these companies have tended to focus on self-service, with direct-to-consumer models aimed at tenants, property owners, and landlords. For the most part, these products look to cut the agent out. reOS has taken a different view, recognizing that the greatest opportunity lies in enabling rental professionals to offer more value to their customers – at scale,” said Craig Buckley in 2020 explaining the rationale behind reOS missions.
Users can access the solution from its web platform and desktop application. Once they create their accounts, they can access services like lease and portfolio management, money management, financial reporting, and cloud storage.
The start-up offers several subscription packages. Its packages adapt to subscribers’ portfolios and the features needed. Currently, it operates in South Africa but it does not rule out future expansion. “While we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, reOS was designed with international markets in mind and as a result that would be a natural progression for us,” Craig Buckley indicated.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
While on-demand transport services are undeniably useful, they are not without their problems. In particular, women who use these services have reported incidents of harassment, which highlights the need for measures to improve safety in the on-demand transportation sector. An Nisa Taxi is one such solution that seeks to make the industry safer for women
An Nisa Taxi is a women-only taxi service developed by a Kenyan start-up. It allows women to commute safely without being harassed and enables women drivers to do their jobs peacefully. According to founder Mehnaz Sarwar, the startup has a team of women drivers and caters to women and children. “We also offer monthly packages for parents and working women. [...] We empower our drivers by offering them better rates while working in a safe environment for both our drivers and customers,” she added.
Currently, the solution only has an Android app, with the iOS version still under development. Using the app, users can create An Nisa accounts and access various services. They only need to choose the type of car they want, and depending on the route and location, the app suggests the closest driver. Users can then book their rides, wait for the driver to arrive -and even follow them in real-time- and pay. An Nisa Taxi's policy is so strict that a woman cannot take a cab with her partner unless it's an emergency.
An Nisa derives its revenues from subscriptions, partnerships with companies, and margins on daily rides. The startup collects a 15% commission on the rides performed by its “self-employed” drivers. To work with An Nisa, drivers need to own their cars and pass the verification process.
The startup is still self-financed and has not yet attracted outside investments despite its strong growth in recent years. According to its figures, it reached the 10,000-user mark this year and hopes to expand to Saudi Arabia, where it has many partners.
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The solution was launched by two foreign students in Mauritius as they believe the country is the best place to start, to quickly penetrate Southern African markets.
Vite is a digital solution developed by a Mauritian start-up. It allows users to book rides and parcel deliveries.
Through its mobile app, accessible on Appstore and Playstore, users can use its on-demand transportation services or even request the delivery of items like food, spice, etc as well as send for an errand. The platform integrates a WhatsApp link for users to report any issues that arise.
The solution claims more than 700 partner drivers, over 10,000 customers served and more than 24,500 trips and orders completed. To improve its efficiency, it is partnered with various entities. For example, it provides delivery services to more than 250 restaurants.
Based in Grand Bay, its founding startup was launched, in 2017, by Isaac Agyemang and Ukeme Augustine Jonah, two foreign students. Commenting on why it was launched in Mauritius, Vite’s chief marketing officer Anthony Takyi said: “If you are going to do business and get things smoother than smooth in Africa, Mauritius is certainly the starting point. It is the gateway to the SADC region.”
In 2020, the startup completed a funding round of an undisclosed amount to develop its technology and accelerate its growth. It is growing steadily and hopes to expand into the sub-region in the coming years. To date, its Android app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times from PlayStore.
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The solution was launched after one of its co-founders’ employees got arrested for buying a stolen smartphone.
Badili is an online refurbished smartphone retailing platform developed by an eponymous Kenyan startup launched in 2022. It allows users to buy phones at competitive rates, that can go up to 50% down from brand-new prices.
“We are providing an alternative to people who don’t want to pay full price for a device, and I am more excited about the fact that we can help a lot of consumers buy their first smartphone,” Badili’s CEO, Rishabh Lawania, told media outlet Techcrunch in late 2022.
“One of my ex-employees in Kenya got arrested for buying a stolen phone, and it struck me that most people can’t buy pre-owned electronics here because the only option they have is the grey market, which is risky. That is when the Badili idea kicked in. I thought something needs to change,” he explained.
The solution has no mobile app yet, but users can visit its web platform to discover all the available smartphone brands and ranges, including Infinix, Apple, Samsung, Redmi, and Oppo.
Badili also allows individuals to resell their used smartphones. Its pricing algorithm makes a summary estimate of used phones’ value by considering brands and models. For thorough estimates, users have to give more details about the condition of their used phones, including the state of the screen, components, and additional accessories.
Users can also get their phones repaired on the platform. The founding startup plans to expand throughout Africa. For that purpose, the Naribo-based startup, founded in 2022, has already raised close to $3.9 million.
“We are launching in Uganda and Tanzania and have established strong partnerships with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Within the next six months, we will be expanding to a few West African markets to get our foot in the door of some of the major markets in Africa,” said Rishabh Lawania when the startup raised $2.1 million in pre-seed funding in December 2022.
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The fintech company, originally known as Aboki, has evolved into a full-fledged neobank that provides banking services to unbanked individuals.
Grey is a fintech solution developed by an eponymous Nigerian start-up. It provides digital banking services such as current account opening, debit card issuance, and loans. It also offers free virtual international bank accounts to let African teleworkers get paid easily.
Its main objective is to provide adequate financial services to everyone. For that purpose, it developed a mobile app that is available on Playstore and AppStore. Through the app, users can sign up for a Grey account and access the various services.
In 2022, the fintech startup behind the solution was claiming 100,000 users and a 200% growth in the volume of transactions processed. Currently, the Android version of its app has been downloaded over 100,000 times from PlayStore, demonstrating a certain popularity. It is growing rapidly and has won several awards. In 2022, it was selected to join the Winter cohort of California-based accelerator Y Combinator. In addition to Nigeria, it is present in Kenya and Tanzania and hopes to continue its expansion into other African markets.
Since its launch in 2020, it has raised about $2.5 million to support its growth, among other things. “We like to say that we’re on a mission to make international payments as easy as sending an email. We want to do impactful work to improve how Africa as a continent interacts with money across its borders,” said its CEO Idorenyin Obong when Grey raised $2 million in 2022.
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Healthtech solutions proved useful during the coronavirus pandemic by addressing healthcare accessibility concerns, which has led to increased popularity and encouraged more entrepreneurs to enter the sector.
Estshara is a digital solution developed by an Egyptian startup. Through its web platform and mobile application, it allows users access to health services.
Users need to create an account on the web platform or the Android/iOS apps to access the services offered by the solution. Depending on their symptoms, they can consult with a general practitioner or a specialist. To aid the diagnostic process, users can attach the results of their various tests. They can also communicate with the doctors via text or audio messages.
Estshara offers various packages to users. Its first package is for single consultations, which costs EGP50 (about $1.62). It also has monthly (EGP100) and yearly (EGP1,000) packages. The startup also offers alternative employee health insurance policies to small businesses and startups.
In 2021, it was claiming more than 200,000 consultations. The Android version of its mobile application has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. It dreams of becoming a reference in Egypt and the MENA region. For that purpose, in 2021, it raised about $500,000 in seed funding.
At the time, founder Amin El-Hemaily said: “The investment will help us scale our organization with exceptional talent and enhanced resources, as well as further increase our marketing and sales outreach to support our focused go-to-market strategy and achieve our expansion goals.”
Adoni Conrad Quenum