Victor Maina, CEO of Kenya’s Duqha offers some insight into its retail-tech solution

While eCommerce has grown in Africa over the years, online shopping on the continent remains significantly lower than the global average.

Only around 35% of Africans shop online. This simply demonstrates that many Africans (approximately 65 percent) continue to rely on retailers and small shop owners for their daily household needs such as groceries, utilities, and so on.

Obtaining these items from retailers, on the other hand, may be prohibitively expensive for low-income individuals and households due to retailers’ profit-driven nature and, more importantly, the difficulty in obtaining these items from manufacturers and suppliers. Duhqa, a retail-tech startup, can help with this.
Victor Maina (CEO), Catherine Masolia, Dudu Moilwa, and Davis Angwenyi founded Duhqa in January 2021.

This came after an initial stage of product development in 2020. It is a business-to-business end-to-end supply chain and distribution technology marketplace that connects retailers and manufacturers.

In a conversation with me, the CEO, Victor Maina, stated that he and his team members were prompted to launch the solution because they, too, were affected by the problem.

“We are addressing a massive problem in Africa, where retailers/microstores selling to over 490 million people must close their doors and travel 20 kilometers to buy inventory.” This is due to the fact that large distributors and wholesalers do not deliver to smaller shops. The retailers’ time is wasted as a result of this. It also means that they and their customers will incur additional transportation costs.

Finally, it means they will lose the money they would have made if their shop had been open. This means that their businesses will be unable to expand,” Victor explained.

Duhqa, he claims, is using technology to optimize Africa’s microstores via its app. Aside from inventory solutions, the startup also provides financing to retailers. This is done to help them restock more items at once rather than returning to the app.

Finally, the goal is to assist retailers in remaining in their shops and stores while focusing on their core functions of trading with ease. This will give them the opportunity to improve her family’s financial situation.

With our solution, the retailer, through our App and at their convenience, orders the goods they need, obtains financing to grow their business and gets the ordered goods delivered free of charge to their shop. 

Victor Maina

Financial Times x SDG winner

Duhqa was recently named one of the Financial Times Sustainable Development Goals Challenge winners. The competition is aimed at early-stage startups and emerging-market entrepreneurs. They will be expected to propose innovative solutions to the problems impeding the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Duhqa, the only African winner, took home the prize for Reduced Inequalities. This is for their role in assisting small struggling shops selling consumer goods with their procurement, financing, and logistics needs.

And the ecstatic CEO stated that the FT SDG win means a lot to the startup because it expands its brand beyond Kenya and Africa. He stated that reducing inequality is something Duhqa is passionate about and that the company is committed to doing its part to help address it.

“It’s a seal of approval for the work we’re doing in Africa to reduce inequalities and make a positive difference.” This award means a lot to us as a company. That we can be seen as a force for change in terms of reducing inequalities, which is such a huge global challenge, and that we can be heard on a global stage,” he said.

Aside from the recognition, Victor stated that the startup is on track to receive $500,000 as a result of this win. This means a lot to the founders, who have been bootstrapping the company since its inception in 2020, when they began revenue generation.

He stated that the funds will be used to broaden the startup’s reach and drive its business growth in order for the impact to reach as many people as possible.

Longterm plans

Duhqa’s future appears to be bright for a company that is already showing great promise despite its infancy. Its founders, like any other tech startup, intend to raise funds, scale, and eventually expand beyond its current market.

And, according to Victor Maina, the company has big plans for the future.

“Duhqa’s long-term goal is to expand the business to over ten African countries in three years.” We will also be innovating in the fintech, B2C ecommerce, and cold-chain spaces, as these are critical solutions for the African market,” he said.

Techstars has already provided seed funding to Duhqa. We anticipate that the next round of funding will arrive soon.