Kenyan e-commerce Tappi secures $1.5m in funding led by Mercy Corps

Kenyan digital commerce solution, Tappi, secures $1.5 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round led by Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures. The round also witnessed participation from Digital Currency Group, SOSV, Resilience17, growX ventures, Orbit Startups, Reflect Ventures, and contributions from angel investors and advisors from tech giants like Google, Salesforce, and Zendesk.

The investment aims to propel Tappi’s mission of empowering small and medium-sized businesses across Africa in the digital commerce landscape.

Tappi facilitates the swift creation of online storefronts for SMEs, leveraging AI in operations and collaborating with major mobile network operators and financial institutions, expanding its reach to over 100 million SMEs in Africa.

Tappi’s rapid growth and innovative solutions

Since its founding in 2022 by Kenfield Griffith (CEO) and Louis Majanja, Tappi has played a pivotal role in digitizing small businesses through the creation of online profiles or websites. Business owners using the its app can swiftly generate SEO-optimized websites within two minutes after providing the necessary information. With 5,000 indexed business pages on Google, the company prioritizes visibility for businesses, allowing them to collect customer reviews.

“Our goal is to help businesses achieve visibility,” Griffith told TechCabal. 

In collaboration with mobile network operators, the digital commerce solution, currently partnering with MTN, enables small businesses to purchase ads using airtime, overcoming challenges associated with credit card payments. Offering a specialized data bundle inclusive of ad credits, data, and voice bundles, Tappi simplifies the ad payment process for businesses. The platform’s AI feature assists businesses in generating ad descriptions, addressing the challenge of crafting effective ad copies due to limited resources.

Although not yet profitable, the e-commerce company is poised for profitability. It is relying on customer subscriptions ranging from $2 to $100 to achieve this. With a notable influx of subscribers in the $2–$19 range and a 19% month-over-month growth in business ads and data bundle subscriptions, the digital commerce company is on a growth trajectory.

Kenfield Griffith expresses gratitude for investor support, emphasizing Tappi’s mission to empower SMEs across Africa by establishing a trusted online identity for customer acquisition, particularly in overlooked service industries like food services, fashion, agriculture, health, and beauty.

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Tappi’s impact on small businesses in Africa

One inspiring tale comes from a small boutique in Nairobi, Little Red, which with the help of Tappi, transitioned from a local storefront to a global player in the fashion industry. By leveraging Tappi’s user-friendly interface and robust tools, the boutique quickly established an online presence, reaching customers far beyond its physical location. The result was a significant increase in sales and a newfound recognition on the international stage.

The digital commerce positive influence extends beyond urban areas, reaching entrepreneurs in rural regions. In a remote village in Nigeria, a craftsman specializing in handmade artefacts found a market for his products through Tappi’s expansive network. The platform’s collaboration with mobile network operators facilitated seamless transactions, allowing the craftsman to showcase and sell his creations to a broader audience, ultimately boosting his income and supporting the local economy.

A dynamic food delivery start-up in Cape Town, Yebo Fresh, experienced accelerated growth after integrating Tappi into its operations. Tappi’s enterprise-grade tools streamlined order processing, enhanced customer interactions, and optimized delivery routes. This not only improved the overall efficiency of the business but also garnered positive reviews from users, leading to increased customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals. The start-up’s success story serves as a testament to the scalability and adaptability of Tappi’s solutions.

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