Kenyan Startup - Afrikan Heroes

Kenyan Startup Launches AI-based Shop Assistant System

May 11, 2022

Phindor, the Kenyan startup, has launched a next generation shop assistant system that employs artificial intelligence (AI) to help local businesses digitise record management, data collection and storage.

What started as a website helping users find and compare pricing for school items, Phindor has however, shifted focus in 2018 to offering data management and analysis services.

According to the co-founder Pheneas Munene, “We decided to work towards creating a simple, lightweight and affordable app to help businesses capture data, keep it and use AI to draw insights from this data, just like giant companies are doing,”

That vision finally became a reality in January, when the Phindor app launched. A business assistant application, it enables businesses to seamlessly record sales data both online and offline, get customer feedback from automated surveys, generate smart supply chain networks for both retailers and suppliers, analyse and recommend markets and customer segments, and predict business performance. It also allows for market and product tracking.

“We are enabling them to apply the power of AI to make sense of this data by helping them segment customers in their markets, generate smart supply chain networks, analyse their markets and predict future performance of their businesses, as well as track sale items over time to enable them to make proper purchase decisions, just the same way we track currencies and stocks,” Munene said.

Self-funded for now, the startup has registered almost 500 users since January. Munene said Phindor’s user segment is mostly underserved when it comes to business technology.

“It is usually “wow” moments when we walk into someone’s shop and explain to them what the app can do. Surprisingly for us, we found out that most of the users had ideas of such a product but have never had a solution that fits all these needs in such a way they would adopt it. We have had challenges explaining the app to the least tech-savvy, but overall, the adoption has been smooth,” he said.

Currently operating in Kenya, the startup is seeking funding to acquire more users and expand to Nigeria, Rwanda and Ghana, and later the rest of Africa.

“We charge our users a small percentage of their monthly sales on top of a flat rate of US$5 a month that can be broken to weekly or daily payments,” said Munene.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Kenyan Startup Ilara Health Raises $735k Seed Funding Round To Grow Business

August 8, 2019

2019 has proven a good year for health and ride-sharing startups in Africa. More funding is coming than ever before. Kenyan startup Ilara Health, which is bringing affordable diagnostics services to doctors, has just joined the wagon. The startup has raised a US$735,000 seed funding round to grow its offering in the East African country and ultimately beyond.

Here Is The Deal

The US$735,000 seed funding for the startup came from investment firms ShakaVC, Chandaria Capital, and Villgro Kenya, with the round also including angel investors such as Esther Dyson, Nijhad Jamal, Aadil Mamujee, Selma Ribica, and Shakir Merali. Several of the new investors will become strategic advisors to the business.

“Seventy per cent of patients need some form of medical test to inform their treatment, but many doctors across Africa have limited ability to perform diagnostics in their clinics. When a patient needs a test, doctors often refer them to a lab. Given the infrastructure challenges across the region — the time, the money it takes to get anywhere — patients frequently fail to attend and care breaks down,” said Emilian Popa, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at Ilara Health.

This round of investment will be used primarily to grow Ilara Health ’s peri-urban medical clinic customers in Kenya, and ultimately beyond. It will also allow the company to build a flexible technology platform to manage and protect valuable patient health and clinic financial data.

A Glance At The Startup

Founded in 2018, Kenyan health startup Ilara Health sources tech-powered diagnostics equipment and makes it accessible to Africans who struggle to afford it, bundling the equipment and integrating the devices via a proprietary technology platform. Doctors pay a deposit to use the equipment and then pay off the remaining cost in installments determined by usage.

What Drew Investors In

Esther Dyson, angel investor and executive founder at Wellville, said she had invested in Ilara because she had watched CEO Popa explore the market to find the perfect, sustainable product-market fit.

“Moreover, the need is great, and the benefits of simple, cost-effective diagnostic tools will extend well beyond the patients and doctors, affecting first Kenya and ultimately the continent at large,” she said.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

This Kenyan Startup Has Just Secured $330k In Debt Finance

July 25, 2019

Optimetriks, the Kenyan sales force automation startup has just defied odds and gone after debt finance. A whole $330,000 debt facility (loan) to grow its customer base and add new features? For a startup that was founded in 2016, this appears a life-saving option. But then, why not fund-raising?

Here Is The Deal

Debt financing came from French commercial banks.
The startup intends to use finance to grow its customer base and add new features.
Optimetriks currently serves more than 25 companies across 16 countries in Africa, with its clients operating in sectors such as beauty, telecommunications, food, and professional services. Last month, it took on EUR300,000 (US$335,000) in debt financing from commercial banks in France to fund its growth, with Langlois-Meurinne saying this will go towards product development.

Why Debt Financing?

Although debt financing is an option for fundraisers, so much remains to be said about the strong terms under which loans are given. Optimetriks does not appear to be desperately resorting to borrowing as the nearest funding alternative to remaining in business, however.

The Kenyan startup has previously received grant funding from the GSMA in 2017 and took part in the Francophone Africa-focused L’Afrique Excelle accelerator program earlier this year and has bootstrapped until now. It could also take on Series A investment soon.

“As our company has matured, and based on our existing traction, we are now considering fundraising in the coming months, to benefit from strategic investors, knowledge of East Africa, and consumer goods distribution,” said Langlois-Meurinne.

About Optimetriks

Founded in 2016, Optimetriks has developed a sales force automation platform that helps consumer goods companies and distributors digitize their workflows and operations.

“Typical use cases are route management, defining where the sales representatives need to pass, checking on visits and productivity, providing guidance and background information on the retailers they engage with, outlet management, checking on stock levels, and things like that,” said Paul Langlois-Meurinne, the startup’s co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO).

Optimetriks, which makes money from license and service fees, was launched in a bid to solve key problems in African distribution.

“First, the lack of reliable market information and the costs and limitations that exist when trying to collect and analyse data at a large scale,” Langlois-Meurinne said.

“Second, the fact that there are information asymmetries and sometimes misaligned interests between the actors of the ecosystem. Finally, the fact that middlemen take unnecessary margins at the expense of retailers, and distort the value chain.”

The Optimetriks platform aims to bring more transparency and visibility to the distribution space, and help companies better understand how their resources are being employed.

“We help our clients implement scientific distribution that is data-driven, where every action is logged in the system, and can be tracked. Our clients access our platform either through the mobile app for the field users, or the web app, for office users who need to navigate in the reporting dashboards and configure the deployment.,” said Langlois-Meurinne.

“Our ambition is to be the reference platform that connects directly and on a daily basis consumer goods brands with the millions of African retailers that distribute their products on several key dimensions.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.