Tappi Expands to Cote d’Ivoire
tappi, the comprehensive digital commerce SaaS solution designed specifically for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) in Africa, has made an exciting announcement today regarding its expansion into Côte d’Ivoire. Building upon its successful operations in Kenya and Nigeria, tappi’s latest venture in this country will involve an extension of its existing partnership with the telecommunications giant, MTN. This development marks a significant milestone in tappi’s mission to promote the digitalization of MSMEs throughout Africa.
For a remarkably affordable price of $8 per month, MSMEs in Côte d’Ivoire will gain access to tappi’s SaaS platform and enterprise-grade tools. These empowering resources enable businesses to create SEO-optimized websites in under two minutes, distribute online advertisements, and secure access to a wide range of additional digital services. Through tappi’s collaboration with MTN Côte d’Ivoire, the telecom’s 17 million customers in the country will also have the opportunity to utilize these services through integrated data bundles. This partnership will enhance their ability to establish an online presence, build trust, and reach new customers.
Kenfield Griffith, tappi’s CEO and co-founder, expressed his thoughts on this expansion, stating, “With Côte d’Ivoire boasting a robust GDP growth rate of 6.9%, it not only presents an ideal market for empowering MSMEs to embrace digitalization and significantly expand their customer base, but also serves as a crucial gateway to access the 150 million consumers in Francophone Africa. This expansion allows us to identify future growth opportunities across the region.”
Griffith further added, “We are proud to embark on this mission alongside MTN, one of our esteemed partners who has been instrumental to tappi’s success from the very beginning. They share our unwavering commitment to digitizing MSMEs across Africa. With over 17 million customers in Côte d’Ivoire alone, coupled with a robust mobile money network, we firmly believe that MTN possesses the ideal reach, scale, and infrastructure to seamlessly provide technology to MSMEs eager to expand their businesses. We eagerly anticipate the next phase of our partnership and the progress it will bring.”
Since its establishment in 2022, tappi has experienced rapid growth by collecting verified reviews on more than $3M consumer transactions and interacting with over 150K consumers.
According to UNECA, SMEs make up over 98% of all businesses in Côte d’Ivoire. Despite their significance to the economy, many businesses encounter challenges in establishing a reliable online presence. This is mainly due to the complexity of current tools, the necessity of an international credit card, or the listing of websites in areas where trust is hard to determine. These obstacles create significant barriers to acquiring and converting new customers.
Djibril Ouattara, CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire, states, “MTN is committed to leading the way in ushering in a new digital era, guided by our Ambition 2025 strategy. We are dedicated to offering the advantages of a modern connected life to all individuals, with a particular emphasis on supporting MSMEs as the future catalysts of digital commerce and economic development. Through connectivity, communication, collaboration, and cloud solutions, we aim to empower businesses for sustainable expansion.”
By utilizing its comprehensive digital commerce platform, tappi streamlines the process of creating an online business profile through an intuitive chat interface. With the integration of payments, messaging, and AI, the platform is quickly establishing itself as the SEO foundation for enhancing revenue for MSMEs throughout the continent. This assists businesses in enhancing visibility, consolidating payments with verified reviews to establish online credibility, and purchasing online advertisements using mobile airtime.
