Digital commerce startup, Tappi, has partnered with MTN as part of its strategy to make inroads into the Ivory Coast market.
- •The startup was founded in 2022 by Kenfield Griffith and Louis Majanja to help small businesses promote themselves online with as little as $8 a month.
- •More than 150,000 customers who have engaged with Tappi can optimize their presence on Facebook and Google ads with simple websites created in under 2 minutes.
- •Tappi’s rapid growth in Kenya and Nigeria has enabled the startup to fetch over $3 million in overall transactions.
“With Côte d’Ivoire boasting a robust GDP growth rate of 6.94%, it presents an ideal market for empowering MSMEs eager to digitize and expand their customer base significantly. Our expansion into this region serves as a pivotal gateway to tap into Francophone Africa’s 150 million consumers, positioning us to capitalize on future growth opportunities across the region,” said the startup’s founder Kenfield Griffith.
MTN has an impressive market share of over 15 million users in Ivory Coast, marking the partnership as a valuable one for Tappi. MSMEs in the West African nation can access the startup’s enterprise-grade tools through the telco’s integrated data bundles.
“Alongside MTN, we are proud to kick start this mission with one of our top partners, who has been integral to tappi since day one and is equally committed to the goal of digitising MSMEs across Africa. We firmly believe MTN holds the perfect reach, scale, and infrastructure to seamlessly get technology into the hands of MSMEs ready to grow their businesses, and we look forward to driving ahead with the next phase of our partnership,” Griffith added.
The startup raised $1.5 million in its pre-seed round in December last year, with Mercy Corps Ventures and Chui Ventures leading the raise. The funding round’s success was attributed to the startup’s Month-on-Month (MoM) growth of 19%, cementing investors’ confidence. Angel investors from Google and Salesforce also participated in the funding round, appreciating the need for African MSMEs to digitise their presence.
A 2023 World Bank report states that 60% of African jobs lie within MSMEs. As the continent’s digital footprint continues to grow, small businesses will need adequate resources and skills in digital marketing. Startups like Tappi are anticipating higher subscriptions as they seek to connect businesses with their potential customers online.
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