Kenyan-based startup Wowzi — created to transform social media users into brand influencers — has secured $3.2 million in its latest seed round.

TechCrunch reports the round was led by Africa-focused venture capital firm 4DX Ventures. Participating investors were ​To.org, Golden Palm Investments, LoftyInc Capital, Afropreneur Angels, and Future Africa. Andela co-founder Christina Sass, and former Andela executives Jessica Chervin, Justin Ziegler, as well as Johnny Falla, who is currently the chief development and growth officer at Wowzi, also participated. 

The new funds will spearhead operations in Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa to fulfill the company’s goal to expand beyond their current scope of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

“We are primarily focused on expanding across Africa in 2022 and in other emerging markets globally,” Wowzi co-founder and CEO Brian Mogeni said, according to TechCrunch. “We are also adding new product capabilities and features, as we continue to develop our technology and provide additional value to our communities.”

Wowzi & Influencers

Wowzi makes things easier for brands by doing the automated workload for them. For brands to connect with social media influencers, they can filter through demographic groups such as gender, location, profession, and income levels, TechCrunch reports. Once completed, Wowzi will match the appropriate influencers who fit the brand’s marketing campaign needs. Brands can then decide to refine their search based on Wowzi’s results, and if they approve, brands can connect with influencers from their pool of selections. To determine the success of their campaign, Wowzi will even provide data for brands to access the reach of their marketing campaign.

“Managing influencers is difficult; from establishing contact, negotiations, contracting, ensuring that content is delivered and is posted on time to following up on payment. It is a lot of work. We manage the entire process with the brand to make sure that it’s successful,” said Falla, according to TechCrunch.

Wowzi places influencers into nano, micro, mega, meta, and super celebrities, but the application focuses heavily on nano and micro-influencers. To become a Wowzi influencer, interested prospects with at least 250 connections on a social site will be considered. However, they will have to complete several verification steps before securing any marketing campaigns. 

Wowzi's Plans

Wowzi has assisted creative agencies and brands in elevating their campaigns, working with 200 brands, including industry names such as Coco-Cola, Netflix, Safaricom, Diageo, P&G, and Absa Bank. To date, Wowzi has created 15,000 campaigns and landed influencers over 200,000 paid opportunities since the companies inception in 2019.

As the company looks ahead, it plans to add over one million job opportunities with hopes of developing a more extensive scope of influence in Pan Africa.