Kenyan startup OffersAfrica.com is working to give traditional brick and mortar businesses online visibility by helping customers identify verified businesses for a variety of products and services, giving businesses a platform to advertise and directing customers to the best deals.
Launched in December last year, the startup is one of the 50 semi-finalists for mobile startups event PIVOT East, which will be held in Nairobi on June 24 and 25, and is waiting to discover whether it has earned the chance to pitch at the event.
“The questions “where can I buy?” and “who provides this service?” are incredibly common and recur on a regular basis across social media platforms, forums and general discussions. OffersAfrica.com is the one-stop platform to address these questions and also provides some incredible offers to ensure that customers obtain fantastic value and choice consistently,” director Dee Shah said.
“More importantly, we only allow registered businesses to advertise on our platform, consumers can rest easy knowing that they are dealing with verified businesses.”
Shah said the company is aware of competition in the market, but with consumers restricted by time in being able to view the increasing number of websites and social media pages offering deals it believes by offering a definitive platform it can capture the market.
OffersAfrica.com will charge businesses a nominal advertising fee, but expects to see greater monetary benefits through scaling and from companies that have already taken up featured advertising options.
“With increasing international focus on the business-to-business (B2B) sector in Kenya, OffersAfrica.com also has a dedicated B2B module on the platform,” she said.
“Consumers and businesses are easily able to identify businesses providing items or services they require for their supply chain management.
“Businesses have a distinct label for the type of B2B they are, for example manufacturers, distributors, suppliers. Consumers and businesses can also narrow down the search to identify the particular type of business they are looking for, for items and services they require.”
Shah said the site was gaining a strong following and consumers were downloading a significant number of offer codes, while businesses on the platform have received thousands of views on their company pages, as consumers can click through to them from the site.
In addition to the marketing platform, OffersAfrica.com is also providing website development services and dedicated social media services for businesses.
