The Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator is to support four Ghanaian digital commerce companies with grants and technical support.
The companies OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo, will be the second cohort to receive funding and support.
The Accelerator, managed by BFA Global in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), focuses on building the resilience of Ghana’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs).
The companies selected for the second cohort are tackling challenges across the retail sector for Ghana’s informal MSEs.
Their focus is on enabling the digital transformation of MSEs through solutions including digital logistics, delivery services, digitisation of merchant records, inventory management, and access to affordable inventory financing.
Each of the four companies will receive up to US$120,000 in grant funding, in addition to bespoke expert-led venture acceleration support, connections with Catalyst Fund’s growing global Circle of Investors and Circle of Corporate Innovators, and in-market expertise from MEST.
“Informal MSEs, many of whom are youth and women, get by using a piecemeal approach to digital commerce, often marketing via Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, taking in-person payments and manually addressing delivery, which is costly and puts the risk and heavy lift on the retailer,” Jane del Ser, Programme Director for the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator said in a statement issued in Accra yesterday.
“Companies like OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo are solving this problem with easy-to-use and affordable digital commerce services and are spurring the expansion of the digital commerce ecosystem in Ghana,” she said
Initial research on urban and peri-urban retail shops around Accra conducted at the launch of the programme found that areas of most significant opportunity for digital commerce innovation include online and niche marketplaces, tech-enabled integration for logistics and delivery, digitisation of inventory management and purchasing, and trust-building solutions.
While the first cohort – Boost Ghana and KudiGo – focused on solutions working to digitise inventory management and purchasing, companies in this cohort address additional areas.
For OZÉ, it enables MSEs to become better businesses and better borrowers. Businesses keep digital financial records on OZÉ which in turn provides them with the insights and information they need to make better decisions.
Shopa on the other hand, is redefining Africa’s informal retail distribution and supply chain by connecting last-mile retailers with suppliers, and enabling access to stock on cash or credit.
Swove, for its part, connects e-commerce businesses with accessible logistics services at an affordable price, through its app and USSD short code, while creating opportunities for youth and female entrepreneurs and revenue streams for households. Swoove already partners with MTN and has the potential to be an enabler for the larger digital commerce ecosystem to address logistics challenges.
Tendo enables anyone in Africa to sell online with zero upfront inventory – their platform connects dropshippers to wholesalers.
“Ghana’s informal micro and small enterprises hold the key to unlocking work opportunities and supporting the livelihoods of thousands of young Ghanaian women and men. By accelerating the inclusive growth of promising digital commerce solutions, informal MSEs will have options to adopt digitisation in a manner that suits their needs, enabling growth and achievement of their aspirations,” Chirag Shamdasani, Innovation Lead, Ghana, at the Mastercard Foundation said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
