Investors have backed an African startup that is helping brands source critical data before entering into markets.
Rwazi, a market intelligence startup, raised a $4 million seed funding round, TechCrunch reports. Led by Bonfire Ventures, the round also received investments from Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures.
As Rwazi is available across Africa in 40 countries, as well as in South Asia and Latin America markets, the startup aims to continue its expansion and launch more products.
“We are rolling out new products this year that support different languages, because this has been a barrier to our growth in these regions,” said Rwazi co-founder Eric Sewankambo, according to the outlet.
The outlet details that Rwazi has a network of 50,000 consumers. What’s more, its customers include 18 multinational corporations that track more than 200 different products across sectors.
The startup collects data directly from users by them logging their purchases in an app. Following verification, the users are compensated. The data is based on the customers’ needs and ranges from product usage and frequency of consumption to household budgets and income.
Co-founders Sewankambo and Joseph Rutakangwa launched Rwazi in 2021 after they experienced how tiresome it is to gather timely market insights to make smart moves.
“By using Rwazi, multinationals access data on who is buying what, for how much, from where, when and why, to help them drive revenue and expand,” said Rutakangwa. “Because brands are getting data from the horse’s mouth and can see how consumers are making purchasing decisions, they can do hyper-local messaging, pricing and packaging.”
The CEO notes that there are several brands that use their startup to decide where to expand and match up to their competitors while others seek new markets to establish themselves in.
