Wasoko has announced its expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) leveraging its ecommerce hub in neighbouring Rwanda. With the announcement marking the startup’s second country expansion this year after launching its Zambia operations in May 2023.
Wasoko has expanded its market coverage to serve small businesses in Goma, the capital of DRC’s North Kivu province. This has been facilitated through access to special cross-border trade zones with the support of the Rwandan government as part of its wider drive to foster regional economic integration.
Wasoko joins a select group of businesses enabling cross-border business to drive the integration of the DRC into the East African Community as its newest member country while supporting economic growth, job opportunities and sustainable development across the region.
Since its expansion into Rwanda in 2019, Wasoko’s revenues have skyrocketed from $2m its first year of business to $48mn in 2022. The platform currently serves over 5,000 informal retailers in Rwanda alone. Given its performance in Rwanda, Wasoko is equally optimistic to leverage its existing infrastructure to drive growth for small businesses in neighbouring DRC.
With an existing presence across Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia, it has amassed a huge network of over 220,000 informal retailers and delivered more than 5mn orders to-date.
Through Wasoko’s mobile app, shop owners can purchase goods from manufacturers and distributors at competitive prices based on supply and demand as well as receive real-time tracking data on sales, business insights and market trends. The platform has also built a logistics process across areas including procurement, distribution, financing and technology.