In emerging markets like Africa, offline channels dominate retail sales, which are often driven by informal trade and cash transactions. This makes sourcing data on markets, consumer behavior and products a herculean task. Yet, local and international brands require data about market size and value, consumer profiles and their purchasing power, and penetration of their competitors’ products to establish their presence or expand into such markets.
To save brands from entering emerging markets blindly, Rwazi, a market intelligence startup, is out to bridge this gap by providing market insights backed by data collected directly from consumers. Rwazi’s co-founder and CEO Joseph Rutakangwa told TechCrunch that unlike larger research firms, which make inferences based on sample information, the startup seeks unit-level data like the products bought, frequency of purchases and geographic location of the consumers.
Launched in 2021, the startup is now scaling in emerging markets, including in…
