mobilewebafrica.com
PriceCheck expects to launch in Kenya in the third or fourth quarter of this year, while within six to 18 months further launches will take place across Africa, in particular in North Africa.
Andre de Wet, chief executive officer (CEO) of PriceCheck, told HumanIPO the company is looking at a number of options which would address issues for small businesses and unconnected consumers.
“For example, in Nigeria, you have thousands of little shops, and they have got to buy products from a big supplier, and they use many different suppliers,” said de Wet, explaining why a PriceCheck offering for B2B situations would facilitate business in Africa.
“You could supply somebody more with a tablet type app where he can look at the different prices from the suppliers.”
In terms of expanding to pan-African consumer markets, de Wet revealed the company is working on ways to provide a digital catalogue to consumers who may not have reliable internet access.
“We’re busy digitising offline content. So what you would find in the broadsheets in the newspapers, with all the specials on the weekend, you can now find on your phone, on tablet and online,” he said.
“That whole move, we’ve almost finished with that,” he revealed. “That whole move is going to allow us to go into countries where there is no internet access but can digitise products offline and that is where our growth happens.”
As such, PriceCheck in new African markets may take on a different model to the one seen in South Africa.
“It’s going to be a hyper local, mobile experience,” said de Wet, noting offline users will be able to find the average price of products and special prices in their area.
According to de Wet, locality is key to shoppers in African markets.
“The reason is purely just the distances we have in Africa, and also the problem with delivery,” he said.
“Here, it’s a problem. So you’re looking for the better price in your area.”