Elloe, Kenyan Conversational e-Commerce Startup Buy Flo by Saada

In order to expand operations and enter new markets, Kenya’s Elloe, a conversational e-commerce business, purchased rival Flo by Saada for an unknown fee.

Owen Sakawa founded Elloe, a revolutionary conversational commerce platform driven by AI that enables SMEs to conduct online transactions on any messaging network.

The company has acquired Flo by Saada, whose team will join Elloe’s product and engineering group in Kenya as the company incorporates the technology to complement its current portfolio of messaging services with a packaged, AI-driven offering. The startup raised US$1 million in pre-seed funding in April.

The technology behind Flo by Saada, which was introduced in 2019 by Gerishon Mwaniki, allows SMEs to create conversational commerce solutions and handle payments using USSD, programmable SMS, Voice (IVR), and WhatsApp Business. Telkom Kenya, Quick Bus, Oxfam, and other businesses in retail, entertainment, hospitality, and travel are among the clients.

By increasing operations for its corporate clients and extending its reach beyond its current operations in Kenya and the Philippines, Elloe will be able to expedite its next stage of company growth as a result of the purchase.

“The addition of Flo by Saada technology is a logical extension of Elloe’s capabilities and matches Elloe’s goal perfectly. According to Sakawa, it changes client encounters from straightforward communications to dialogues across the gamut of customer engagement areas.

“With our conversational commerce capabilities, we are meeting new and existing customer needs now and are positioned to continue to meet their evolving needs well into the future,” the company claims. “We are also providing businesses with embedded commerce capabilities to simplify the way they serve, connect with, and sell to their own customers from anywhere, on any channel.”

According to Mwaniki, Flo by Saada was created with the goal of assisting businesses in adapting to the growing popularity of instant messaging as the go-to method of communication, both for staying in touch with loved ones and receiving prompt, attentive service from brands.

“We are eager to become a part of the Elloe team. Bringing together our industry-leading technology offers the chance to develop brand-new, incredible customer experiences,” he said.