Digital Africa, an investment fund formed by a multinational community of partners to support Africa’s digital entrepreneurs – incubators, financial institutions, venture capitalists and tech clusters, has invested in Kwely Inc., a Senegalese startup, to help propel its global expansion.
Through its arm Fuzé, Digital Africa expects the funding to fuel Kwely’s expansion of the Made-in-Africa products in the global market.
According to Birame Sock Ali Mnif, Founder and CEO of Kwely, “We are truly delighted to have a genuine partner in Fuzé who shares Kwely’s vision. We remain committed to showcasing Made-in-Africa products globally and appreciate the support in achieving our goals.”
Digital Africa is investing into startups like Kwely Inc. to foster the growth of e-commerce in Africa and make the platforms showcasing the richness of African products worldwide competitive.
Founded in 2020, Kwely Inc., is a B2B wholesale distribution network focusing on Made-in-Africa products. Kweli Inc works with local suppliers to develop new and existing African brands, aiming to achieve export-ready status and redefine the perception of African products globally.
The platform’s primary goal is to position Made-in-Africa products in major global retail outlets, hotels, airports, specialized shops, and restaurants. Kwely’s comprehensive approach includes not only distribution but also the development of a proprietary platform for B2B wholesale transactions and a packaging studio to ensure products meet international standards.
Kwely Inc. allows buyers around the world have access to quality and unique products made in Africa that meet international standards and provide for customization and white-label solutions based on their needs. The platform fulfills wholesale orders through collective production across multiple suppliers while implementing production-to-delivery quality assurance processes to meet the needs of volume buyers and ensure a winning branding and marketing strategy around the products and the rich ingredients and skills Africa has to offer.
The funding will help Kwely Inc. achieve its goal of becoming the leading African B2B e-commerce platform that redefines the perception of African products and the way African buyers and sellers transact with each other and the rest of the world. The firm has an online inventory and ordering management platform for buyers and sellers looking for a reliable and trustworthy tool to buy or sell products at competitive prices, increase sales through high volume orders and meet quality and compliance requirements.
In April 2021, Kwely initiated the TEKKI Challenge in Senegal, presenting an opportunity for ten local food and cosmetics firms to enhance their branding, packaging, and market access. Through this initiative, Kwely has collaborated with these businesses, co-developing Made-in-Africa products and brands ready for export and compliant with international quality standards.
With the introduction of its packaging studio, Kwely is poised to offer filling and packaging services meeting stringent global requirements, including those set by the United States Food and Drug Administration and other international standardization agencies.
Ali Mnif, Chief Investment Officer of Digital Africa, emphasized Kwely’s model in supporting local producers and artisans. The initial results have been promising, and both Digital Africa and Fuzé express their confidence in Kwely’s success in the upcoming stages. Fuzé investment into Kwely marks a pivotal moment for the startup and reflects the growing confidence in the potential of Made-in-Africa products to captivate global markets. Digital Africa and Fuzé aim to support platforms such as Kwely to redefine the landscape of African e-commerce on a global scale.
In 2022, Kwely Inc. raised a round of funding of $700,000 to complete its US$1 million Series Seed round. In the same year, the Senegalese startup emerged as the first Senegalese Female-founded tech startup to win MEST startup competitions. The same year, the firm also launched its B2B online marketplace to provide African producers and manufacturers with a global window to sell their products at scale. The B2B platform allows international buyers to source high-quality locally made products from across the continent such as food, wellbeing, hair and skin care, to their global customers. This new investments helps it achieve that, but on a global scale.