Rwazi Secures $4M Seed For Precise Market Intelligence In Africa

Joseph Rutakangwa and Eric Sewankambo founded Rwazi in 2021 to offer precise market intelligence to brands and multinational companies, preventing them from entering emerging markets blindly. Informal retail businesses like small shops and kiosks account for 70% of Africans’ food, beverages, and personal care product purchases, making it challenging to track consumer behavior and product market size accurately.

Rwazi addresses this issue by enabling consumers to record their purchases through a web or mobile app and receive compensation upon verification.

We are rolling out new products this year that support different languages because this has been a barrier to our growth in these regions.

Rutakangwa 2023 [TechCrunch]

According to TechCrunch, Rwazi differentiates itself from larger research firms by collecting unit data rather than making inferences based on sample information. It collects detailed information on product purchases, purchase frequency, and consumer location. Rwazi currently has 50,000 consumers who log their purchases and 18 multinational companies that track data on over 200 products, ranging from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) to telecommunications and healthcare.

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Although Rwazi operates in 40 African countries, South Asia, and Latin America, it plans to use its $4 million seed funding to expand and create additional products.

Bonfire Ventures led the seed funding round, with participation from Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures.