With a goal to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) scale in Africa, tappi, an end-to-end digital commerce SaaS solution, has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed funding round.
The round was led by Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures, with participation from investors such as Digital Currency Group, SOSV, Resilience17, growX ventures, Orbit Startups, Reflect Ventures, and angel investors/advisors from global tech giants like Google, Salesforce, and Zendesk.
Founded in 2022 by Kenfield Griffith (CEO) and Louis Majanja, tappi addresses the challenges faced by SMEs, which contribute significantly to Africa’s GDP and employment. The platform focuses on digitizing these businesses by streamlining the creation and management of online profiles, providing a hassle-free way for SMEs to showcase products, interact with customers, and facilitate payments.
The funds secured in this round will be used for tappi’s expansion, concentrating on talent acquisition, brand building, and solidifying its presence in current markets. SMEs often struggle with the digital transition, and tappi aims to bridge this gap by offering an intuitive platform that allows businesses to establish an online presence within minutes.
One of tappi’s standout features is its ability to generate SEO-optimized websites within two minutes, significantly enhancing the visibility of small businesses. The platform has successfully indexed thousands of business pages on Google, amplifying the online presence of these enterprises.
To tackle payment hurdles faced by SMEs, tappi has partnered with mobile network operators, currently working with MTN, to facilitate ad purchases using airtime. This addresses a common challenge where businesses encounter obstacles in paying for ads with traditional credit cards.
Kenfield Griffith emphasized tappi’s commitment to helping businesses achieve visibility, stating, “Our goal is to help businesses achieve visibility.” He added that tappi’s AI feature aids businesses in crafting effective ad copies, an important aspect often overlooked by resource-constrained SMEs.
While not yet profitable, tappi is on a trajectory toward profitability, buoyed by a growing subscriber base with plans ranging from $2 to $100. Griffith highlighted the startup’s substantial growth in business ads and data bundle subscriptions, with a notable surge in subscribers within the $2–$19 range.
Expressing gratitude for the support from investors, Griffith noted tappi’s mission to tap into the untapped potential within Africa’s informal SME markets. The startup aims to empower businesses in overlooked service industries such as food services, fashion, agriculture, health, and beauty, providing them with a trusted online identity to connect with customers.
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