How Africa News
Data has become vital in all aspects of life. In business, it is used to forecast consumer behavior and preferences. In politics, it is used to get insight into potential voters’ preferences, while in academia, it is used to propose solutions, among other things.
Unfortunately, data collection in Africa and other regions of the world remains inadequate and uncoordinated, making it difficult for firms to make acceptable predictions based on appropriate input. As a result, Joseph Rutakangwa founded Rwazi, a market intelligence platform.
The platform, according to Grit Daily, provides organizations with actionable data from developing countries on who is buying what, for how much, from where, when, and why. It also makes use of a network of skilled “mappers in over 40 urban countries in Africa and South Asia to collect data from their neighborhoods.”
A Techcabal analysis estimates that the data analytics business is valued $271 billion and will approach $655 billion by 2029. Additionally, Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is predicted to expand, increasing the demand for consumer intelligence.
Rwazi co-founder Joseph Rutakangwa aspires to be a major player in the business by placing his company as a market leader with the goal of capturing a larger share of this increasing market. In this sense, Bonfire Ventures recently led a $4 million seed round for the company. Rwazi will invest the capital in emerging areas such as Africa, South Asia, and sections of Latin America, according to Techcabal.
“We’ve already built a network of 50,000 local consumers across Africa who provide our paying subscribers, including Fortune 500 global brands, with unparalleled insight into who’s buying what, for how much, from where, when, and why. Now, we’re announcing that with our new funds, we’ll be further scaling our reach across Africa, South Asia, and parts of Latin America,” Rutakangwa said in a statement.
After graduating from Techstars Los Angeles in June 2022, Rwazi closed a $3.8 million seed round in October 2022. Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures contributed to the funding, increasing Rwazi’s total funding to $7.8 million.
Customers of the businesses include 18 international corporations that track more than 200 distinct items across industries such as fast-moving consumer goods, healthcare, telecommunications, and financial services, according to Techcrunch. Brands also utilize the platform to determine prospective growth areas.
“Others are looking for new markets that are growing and have good demographics — regions where they can start establishing themselves to be able to capture future sales,” Rutakangwa told Techcrunch.
