These intuitive companies are using the growing mobile revolution to solve problems across several industries in Africa, helping individuals on the continent do everything from buying and learning to selling and delivering goods and services much easier. AFKInsider has listed some of the impressive tech startups that you should look out for in 2015.
Delivery Science
Nigerian company Delivery Science uses self-teaching systems that analyze data of consumer goods companies such as locations, routes, personnel and workflow to look for ways companies might be losing money. Some of their solutions include intelligent fleet and route managers for drivers and inventory managers.
Jumia seeks to be Africa’s Amazon.com and is already operating in Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Uganda, Morocco and Ghana. The site is catching up to Amazon in terms of categories, with automotive, wines, spirits & cigarettes, baby, kids & toys and healthy & beauty, to name a few.
Africa has several burgeoning industries and professionals eager to keep up with the demand for more experts. Kyatbu is helping by digitalizing textbooks used in many education systems in Kenya. Kyatbu enables users to buy only a portion of or a whole textbook from their mobile devices, making education increasingly more affordable and accessible.
Hotels.ng is an online travel agency that is making strides in being the go-to source for hotel bookings in Nigeria. The site provides reliable reviews, and does extensive research to ensure every hotel they offer is safe and clean. Other such services exist in Africa, but the CEO of Hotels.ng has worked hard to be a leader in the online booking industry.
The demand for products is growing throughout Africa, but many African companies do not have the infrastructure to deliver goods off-location. MallforAfrica allows consumers to order goods from American or African stores and have them either delivered to their home, or to a set pick-up location.
Nigerian-based Prepclass, which won the TechCabal Battlfield 2014, started as an online learning platform and has grown into a tutor marketplace. The company is reportedly doing so well that consumer demand is outweighing supply, but the young founders are working hard to keep up with customer needs.
Andela will undoubtedly help African startups immensely. Andela is a free training program, teaching business developers how to work in the African marketplace. Once they’ve trained the developers, Andela connects them with companies throughout Africa, offering them as contract workers.
ChopUp is a mobile game development company based out of Nigeria that’s attracted international investors. The company aims to make games that represent experiences on the continent and has already received attention from NPR.
Obami is a Facebook-like education platform for high school kids where teachers, students and parents can create “groups” based on common interests and hold discussions. There is a full and mobile version of the site, which is ideal for African students. Small companies also use Obami to discuss matters at work.
Founded by a former Google employee, Fashpa is dedicated to being Africa’s premier online lifestyle brand. The website offers brands from all over the world, and free shipping in Lagos, Nigeria or low cost shipping outside the region. The site even offers modeling jobs and online fashion consultants.
Printivo is on its way to becoming Nigeria’s go-to print service. The company is known for great, detail-oriented customer service and is launching a designer’s marketplace so that designers of products like business cards and events cards have a platform to make money.
Truppr is a one-stop shop for fitness enthusiasts, connecting people throughout the world interested in an athletic lifestyle. The site allows you to search for any type of sports game near you so you can participate, lists calendars of up and coming sports events and athletic classes and fosters a community for sports lovers.