Haskè Ventures, a venture builder for Francophone Africa, has invested Ksh. 17,047,500 (USD 150,000) in ProXalys, a digital transformation B2B commerce company. The start-up aims to modernise and empower Senegal’s informal traders, who account for up to 90% of the country’s economy.
A key challenge for the sector has been growing competition from large distribution chains that have modern and formalized processes. With this new competition, informal businesses are reinventing themselves, particularly through the digitization of conventional supply chain processes.
ProXalys is working to level the playing field for the informal sector by digitising the entire value chain and reinventing the supply chain processes of the numerous actors in this ecosystem. The company has three tools for managing and capturing daily financial flows in real time, including an order-taking application for informal distributors. The start-up also provides a procurement service for everyday products, such as onions and potatoes, with staggered payment terms and free delivery within 24-hours.
Thanks to the first round of fundraising, ProXalys intends to expand its reach in Dakar and in the major cities in Senegal. Their long-term goal is to be able to eventually support the entire West African region.
Commenting on the raised funds, Abdourahmane Diop, Haskè Ventures CEO said, “We believe that technology has a key role to play in modernising infrastructure in Africa, a major challenge that must be addressed through the upgrade of vital operational channels. Additionally, the transfer of knowledge and skills development will play a critical role in ensuring the sustained longevity of initiatives undertaken now. We are proud to be supporting ProXalys on their journey and look forward to future progress.”