Kenyan startup Sukhiba Connect secures an extension of $1.55 million in seed funding to fuel growth and development strategies
Sukhiba Connect, a Kenyan social commerce startup founded by Ananth Raj Gudipati and Abhinav Reddy in 2021, has recently secured a seed extension round of $1.55 million. The round was led by EQ2 Ventures, with further investments from Accion Venture Lab, Musha Ventures, Quona Capital, and CRE Ventures.
The platform, which operates on WhatsApp as a conversational commerce and CRM solution, aims to bridge the gap between brands, manufacturers, distributors, and their customers in emerging markets. It offers sales, marketing, customer service, and payment solutions tailored around the WhatsApp framework.
Sukhiba Connect has established collaborations with leading manufacturers, distributors, major retail chains, and direct-to-consumer brands. The company's network of merchant partners now caters to over 35,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and in turn, nearly 15,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through Sukhiba Connect.
The platform's growth has enabled the expansion of its operations and the enhancement of its SaaS platform. In 2023, Sukhiba Connect supported WhatsApp commerce for more than 30 prominent companies. The startup is striving to compete with other social commerce platforms like Kapu and MarketForce's Chpter.
Buyers can browse product catalogues, add or remove items from their shopping carts, and complete purchases directly through WhatsApp. Sellers can manage orders, accept payments through local methods like M-Pesa, send notifications, and organize customer groups on the platform.
The platform scales seamlessly by integrating with multiple payment providers and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, including SAP, ERPNext, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Sukhiba Connect is now operating across eight markets in Africa and India following its initial seed round in 2023. The eight African countries where Sukhiba Connect is active are Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Rwanda.
The popularity of WhatsApp in these markets makes it an ideal platform for social commerce. According to the Global Web Index's 2020 Social Media User Trends Report, 97% of internet users in Kenya use WhatsApp monthly, making it the most popular social media platform in the country.
Sukhiba Connect has introduced a B2B conversational commerce tool for businesses to connect with and sell directly to customers via WhatsApp. The startup is aiming to become the leading customer relationship management (CRM) and sales force automation solution in emerging markets.
With this new funding, Sukhiba Connect is poised to continue its growth and impact in the social commerce landscape of emerging markets.
