Africa 118

Company

Africa 118 is a digital marketing platform that enables micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to connect to the internet to access new markets.

Problem

Less than 10% of SMEs in Ethiopia have a digital presence. Many lack the digital skills and expertise required to build and manage their online presence.

Solution

Africa 118 aims to use the latest GSMA grant to expand their job tech marketplace service from Addis Ababa (the capital city of Ethiopian) to 3 additional cities. Africa118 will also introduce 2 new product features: “Taskcenter” which will enable service providers to access working tools and supplies and “Taskcredit” which will enable access to credit, based on the service provider’s credit history. This will provide more value to workers and increase adoption of the service.

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Africa 118 received a GSMA grant in March 2021 to provide an affordable Mobile Digital Starter Pack to Ethiopian SMEs to help them build a strong digital presence and grow their business. Africa 118’s digital marketing platform offers comprehensive and accurate information about small businesses to online customers, and provides digital marketing services to individuals and SMEs, enabling them to grow by leveraging the power of the internet.

Impact

Since partnering with the GSMA, Africa 118 has:

– Increased the number of SMEs using their Digital Starter pack from 21 in June 2021 to 1,863 by September 2022. Of these users, 1,249 are women.

– Partnered with Ethio Telecom to provide their SME users with an integrated payment solution that allows them to sell their products online.

– Received a grant from the Mastercard Strive Innovation Fund in December 2023 to improve and expand their offering through greater social media integration and launching a bundled offer with an MNO.

A message from the founder

“For an SME, having an digital presence is as important as having a telephone number. Consumers are looking for businesses online – any business who is missing, risks becoming obsolete. Who, today, could operate without a telephone number?”

– Ezana Raswork, Founder and CEO, Africa 118