Jane del Ser
THE Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator has welcomed four Ghanaian digital commerce companies namely OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo, as the second cohort to receive funding and support.
The programme, managed by BFA Global in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), focuses on building the resilience of Ghana’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs).
The companies selected for the second cohort are tackling challenges across the retail sector for Ghana’s informal MSEs. Their focus is on enabling the digital transformation of MSEs through solutions including digital logistics, delivery services, digitisation of merchant records, inventory management, and access to affordable inventory financing.
Each of the four companies will receive up to $120,000 in grant funding, in addition to bespoke expert-led venture acceleration support, connections with Catalyst Fund’s growing global Circle of Investors and Circle of Corporate Innovators, and in-market expertise from MEST.
“Informal MSEs, many of whom are youth and women, get by using a piecemeal approach to digital commerce, often marketing via Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, taking in-person payments and manually addressing delivery, which is costly and puts the risk and heavy lift on the retailer. Companies like OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo are solving this problem with easy-to-use and affordable digital commerce services and are spurring the expansion of the digital commerce ecosystem in Ghana,” said Jane del Ser, Programme Director for the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator.
Initial research on urban and peri-urban retail shops around Accra conducted at the launch of the programme found that areas of most significant opportunity for digital commerce innovation include online and niche marketplaces, tech-enabled integration for logistics and delivery, digitisation of inventory management and purchasing, and trust-building solutions. The first cohort – Boost Ghana and KudiGo – focused on solutions working to digitise inventory management and purchasing, while companies in this cohort address additional areas.
“Ghana’s informal micro and small enterprises hold the key to unlocking work opportunities and supporting the livelihoods of thousands of young Ghanaian women and men. By accelerating the inclusive growth of promising digital commerce solutions, informal MSEs will have options to adopt digitization in a manner that suits their needs, enabling growth and achievement of their aspirations,” said Chirag Shamdasani, Innovation Lead, Ghana, at the Mastercard Foundation.
Each company in this cohort was approved by the Investment Advisory Committee, comprising representatives from Acuity Ventures, Chandaria Capital, 4DX Ventures, Golden Palm Investments, mPharma, and Novastar Ventures.
A business desk report