Through her startup “Kwely”, based in Senegal, the entrepreneur announced on Wednesday, December 14, the launch of the minimum viable product (MVP) version of her B2B online store for Made in Africa products targeting small and large businesses globally (api.kwely.com). The goal is to change the game, to provide African producers and manufacturers with a global showcase to sell their products on a large scale. Kwely was recently announced as the winner of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge, a pan-African tech startup competition.
International buyers can now source high-quality, unique, and locally made products from across the continent. Starting with Made-in-Senegal brands ranging from food, wellbeing, hair and skin care, the platform offers products which have been produced, tested and packaged following international standards such as the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) packaging requirements and HAACP principles. Kwely seeks to redefine the positioning and image of Made-in-Africa products, increase their competitiveness in international markets and make global buyers and consumers discover the extensive range of natural and healthy ingredients that Africa has to offer. It also unlocks access to global markets and provides packaging solutions to create a level playing field for small producers venturing into international trade.
Cutting-edge proprietary technology
The platform was built with cutting-edge proprietary technology and offers unique features that mirror the way businesses and suppliers transact with each other. From lead times, minimum order quantities, purchase orders and quote requests, the platform makes it easier and faster for buyers to place orders and receive their goods wherever they are. A key feature of the platform is a full product configurator giving the buyer the opportunity to customize their order all the way to the packaging through a private label option.
A first version in English
The first version of the platform is available in English and will soon integrate multi-language support as well as built-in shipping estimation calculation and integrated user-facing payment options. “Today, we celebrate the launch of Kwely, your destination to the best that Africa has to offer. For a long time, Made-in-Africa products have not been given the value they deserve. The talented producers are usually hidden behind larger brands, hindering their ability to build a direct customer base and their own brand identity. Through Kwely, we are introducing to the world high-quality products sourced from small and medium-sized companies and we are unveiling rich and rare ingredients as well as the traditional workmanship of our continent. SMEs constitute the backbone of our economies. By connecting them to international buyers, we are fostering an inclusive economic growth but also impacting entire communities,” said Birame Sock, Founder & CEO of Kwely Inc.
TEKKI Challenge
Every year, Kwely’s team of experts organize the TEKKI Challenge, an annual competition inviting local suppliers to present their products. The team follows a rigorous selection process to identify promising entrepreneurs which are primarily women working on innovative products that undergo several months of rebranding before being featured on the platform and on global partners’ networks. The free rebranding phase aims to upgrade their products by providing local producers with the tools, knowledge, coaching and financial support to improve the quality and image of their offerings. It includes a full marketing and distribution strategy, an analysis of the packaging to meet international standards and the delivery of certifications that are compliant with global market requirements. During the first round of the TEKKI Challenge in 2021, 10 companies from the food and cosmetics industry were selected. The recently concluded second phase will soon reveal an additional 15 new brands. “When I applied for the TEKKI Challenge, my goal was to refresh my brand image and packaging as I was just starting up and only selling my products via social media platforms. Since then, the Kwely team has really helped me work through several areas of my business by completely changing my brand, acquiring packaging, selling my products in large grocery chains and hotels as well as helping me secure some funding. I am so excited to see the Mixeko products on the shelves of supermarkets in Senegal including the American Food Store and Casino. And this happened in just a few months. My growing team is now focusing on making sure I can meet the demand as we look to expand internationally with Kwely in 2023”, said Maimouna Sow, founder of MyMix SN, a Kwely supplier based in Senegal and focused on ready-to-prepare baking mixes of African traditional pastries.
Expand the TEKKI Challenge to other African countries
Kwely has the ambition to expand the TEKKI Challenge to at least three other African countries by the end of 2023 to provide a more diverse range of products. Kwely started distributing the products from the first cohort to a number of local supermarkets, hotels and pharmacies in July 2022. The company is experiencing a rapid growth and is getting ready to venture into other markets such as Europe, the U.S., Asia and other African countries. “As one of the first retailers in Senegal to offer Kwely products, I must say that we are very pleased with our partnership. The quality of the products, the packaging and service is a reminder of how important it is for our local suppliers to comply with international standards and invest in their image. We are truly happy to have found in Kwely a partner who gives us access to local products that have nothing to envy from imported products and this reinforces our commitment to developing space for Made in Africa on our shelves,” said Alioune Ndiaye, owner of the American Food Store in Dakar, Senegal. About Kwely Inc: Kwely is a B2B wholesale distribution platform for Made-in-Africa products. Birame N. Sock, a tech entrepreneur who successfully exited two startups in the US, founded Kwely under the premise that Made In Africa products have a place on the global market and can help boost African exports as well as Africa’s industrial sector. Based in Senegal, the company focuses on the development of existing and new Made-in-Africa brands with local suppliers in order to get them to export-ready status. Kwely offers a proprietary platform to support B2B wholesale transactions on the global market and a packaging studio to provide the services needed to deliver products that meet international standards. The company is currently raising its latest round of funding which is expected to close by January 2023. Kwely was recently announced as the winner of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge, a pan-African tech startup competition.
The entrepreneur behind the creation of Kwely
Born in Senegal, Birame Sock is a global citizen who has lived in several African countries including Senegal, Kenya, Congo and Niger. It was in 2005, while working for Setnet, a startup run by a Frenchman and based in Miami, then in San Francisco, that she launched “Music ID”, the first music recognition application in the USA. Long before, she had created “Musicphone”, a music dedication application, launched in partnership with AT&T Wireless. At the time, fresh out of college in 1993 with a degree in communications and computer science from the University of Miami, Birame Sock was a coder, web designer and programmer at a startup that specialized in unified messaging applications. In this context, she worked for a long time in Europe with cell phone operators such as SFR, Belgacom and Vodafone.
When Setnet established its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Birame Sock also moved to San Francisco, where she actively started her entrepreneurial journey. After a few tests, Birame Sock developed “by mistake”, an application that allows to send music to a correspondent, through the phone, for special events like a birthday. Motivated by this concept, the young engineer told the founder of the company that employed her that music on the cell phone was the future, but the latter did not have the same vision of things. It was in 2002 and at that time, in the USA, Ringtones were almost unknown, in Europe it was more advanced. Nevertheless, Birame Sock continued to develop the application on her own in her personal time, while continuing to work for Setnet.
Working assiduously during nights and weekends, she developed the application “Musicphone”, prelude to the creation of “Music-ID”, which itself will be the “detonator” of what will become “Shazam”. Birame Sock will launch the “Musicphone” application with the American operator AT&T and establish partnerships with labels such as Universal, Sony, Warner, etc. “That’s where I got the idea to create a music recognition application, linked to Musicphone”, explained Birame Sock to Forbes Afrique.
During his research to develop this music recognition application, Birame Sock discovered and met with the creators of a company that was about to close called “Shazam” based in England. “I negotiated with them to use their technology exclusively in the U.S. and Canada, to start. I was going to develop the application around their technology. We agreed, I developed the application, and right away AT&T and Verizon were interested. So we were the first to launch a music recognition service in the US. We didn’t launch it under the name “Shazam” but “Music ID”. It was when I sold the company in 2007 that Shazam picked up some of what I had done and that’s what made it what it is today,” Birame Sock told Forbes Afrique. Her work was the subject of several media coverage at the time on channels such as CNBC or shows like “Good Morning America”.
Made In Africa products have a place on the global market
Back in Senegal after a brilliant career in the USA, Birame Sock founded Kwely under the premise that Made In Africa products have a place on the global market and can help boost African exports as well as Africa’s industrial sector. Based in Senegal, the company focuses on the development of existing and new Made-in-Africa brands with local suppliers in order to get them to export-ready status. Kwely offers a proprietary platform to support B2B wholesale transactions on the global market and a packaging studio to provide the services needed to deliver products that meet international standards. The company is currently raising its latest round of funding which is expected to close by January 2023. Kwely was recently announced as the winner of the 2022 MEST Africa Challenge, a pan-African tech startup competition
