Kenyan startups Digiduka and OkHi are among eight African startups selected for Facebook commerce accelerator program. The program running for 12 weeks aims to equip the start-ups with customer relations skills and ways to create a seamless shopping experience for customers.
Facebook’s head of Startup programs, Michael Huang, says the initiative will bring together innovative commerce startups in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. He added that the selected startups would have access to a dedicated Facebook mentor, comprehensive training, and Facebook’s suite of products and technologies.
The selected startup showed potential in business growth and driving customer value using technology and research. Huang added that over the course of three months the program would help the innovative commerce startups create a unified shopping experience across Facebook apps.
Digiduka assists kiosks by providing digital inventory and easy and cost effective digital payment processing. OkHi is developing a next generation address system aimed at amplifying commerce via enhanced logistics to finance better personal identification.
Other selected include;
South Africa’s BoxCommerce and ShoppingFeeder, Egypt’s Botme, Convertedin, and WideBot, and Ghana’s FeedGeni.
There were 36 startups in total selected for the program representing Europe, Africa, Middle East, and Latin America.
Huang said that commerce is a long-term priority for Facebook and the social media giant has been making significant investment in the space over the years. The pandemic has also seen businesses adapting and pivoting to selling online.
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