Twiva: Social Commerce 🤳🏽

Setting the Scene

As Africa's young population surges towards doubling by 2050, the continent faces both an opportunity and a pressing challenge: how to provide meaningful, dignified work for millions of young people.

At the same time, 90% of businesses in Africa are SMEs, which drive over 80% of jobs across the continent. Yet, many SMEs struggle to grow due to limited access to affordable, impactful marketing solutions. Here’s what this looks like:

• Youth Unemployment: 60% of Africa’s unemployed are under the age of 25.
  

• Creator Economy Gap: Only 3% of Africa’s 50 million creators are monetizing their work effectively.
  

• SME Struggles: African SMEs often lack the resources to compete with larger corporations in reaching customers online.

Why does this happen?

The potential of Africa’s youth and SMEs remains untapped due to systemic barriers:

• Fragmented Ecosystem: Creators and SMEs lack a centralized platform to connect and collaborate. The result? Missed opportunities for both sides.
  

• Resource Gap: Creators lack access to tools and training to turn their passion into profit. Meanwhile, SMEs face high costs and limited reach with traditional marketing.
  

• Digital Divide: While mobile penetration in Africa is over 80%, the infrastructure to support e-commerce and social commerce remains underdeveloped, limiting scalability.
  

• This week’s company, Twiva, is solving these issues by building a platform where creators and SMEs can thrive together, reshaping the future of work, social commerce, and entrepreneurship.
  

In a Sentence

Twiva is a social commerce platform connecting African creators to SMEs, enabling creators to monetize their talent while helping small businesses grow through affordable, impactful marketing.

• For Creators: Twiva provides African youth with tools, training, and opportunities to earn dignified incomes through their social media presence.
  

• For SMEs: Twiva enables businesses to access affordable, impactful marketing via a trusted network of local micro-influencers.
  

• For Africa: A scalable solution to youth unemployment and SME growth, redefining commerce and work.

A “bridge” version:

Twiva connects creators and SMEs on one platform, enabling African youth to earn dignified incomes while empowering small businesses to thrive in a competitive digital world.

The Basics

• Industry: Social Commerce, Creator Economy, Future of Work

• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya

• Year Founded: 2020

• Employee count: 29

• Fundraising to date:

  • 500k from Institutional Investors: Engensis, From Here VC, Kua Ventures, Front End Ventures 

  • 1.1 Million from Impact Investors: Mastercard Foundation, FCDO, World Bank, Challenge Fund for Youth Employment, Kenya Catalytic Jobs Fund

• Currently Fundraising: 2.5 Million - 1.5M in equity, 1M in debt

• Early Traction: 3100 businesses, 1400 influencers, and 100k SKUs on the platform. The current average monthly revenue is 140k USD, with a 23% monthly user growth and 19% active users. Last year, Twiva did over $900,000 in revenue and achieved EBITDA-positive status. This year, the company has already crossed $1 million in revenue and remains on track to hit its targets.

• Business Model: B2B2C social commerce platform, transaction-based commissions on influencer-driven sales, subscription fees

  
  

  

  Twiva SME Dashboard

  

Due Diligence

WHAT WE LIKE

• 🌟 Future of Work Revolution: With 60% of Africa’s youth unemployed or underemployed, Twiva provides a scalable solution to one of the continent’s most pressing issues.
  

• 🌍 Market Opportunity: Africa’s creator economy is expected to grow into a $10B+ market by 2030, fueled by increasing mobile penetration and rising demand for digital content.
  

• 📈 Early Traction: Over 3100 businesses, 1400 influencers, and 100k SKUs onboarded - with creators consistently earning higher incomes through the platform.
  

• 🤝 Impactful Partnerships: African Union and European Union DSI initiative Think Like an Investor, Alibaba's AliExpress, Safaricom Spark Accelerator program

POTENTIAL RISKS

• ⚙️ Scaling Operations: Entering new markets will require localized infrastructure, talent acquisition, and partnerships.
  

• 📱 Infrastructure Gaps: Limited access to affordable devices and reliable internet could slow growth in underserved areas.
  

• 💬 Educating the Market: Social commerce is still developing in many regions, requiring ongoing efforts to drive awareness and adoption.

Founder Profile

• Peter Kironji, CEO & Co-Founder, CEO: An engineer and data scientist by training, Peter brings experience from founding a Toronto-based influencer marketing platform that successfully exited. He is an Equity Leadership Scholar with expertise in tech-driven business models.
  

• Joy Mwangi, COO & Co-Founder: Named one of Africa’s Top 100 Influential Leaders in 2023, Joy leverages over a decade of experience in media and marketing to drive Twiva’s operations and growth..
  

• Esther Kimani, CFO & Co-Founder: A Finance and Economics graduate from the University of Toronto, Esther shapes Twiva’s business model with her background in finance, risk analysis, and compliance at leading institutions like Equity Bank and CIBC.

To request an introduction to the founders, respond to this email.

Comps

• Wowzi (Kenya): A platform enabling micro and nano influencers to collaborate with brands for targeted marketing campaigns.
  

• LTK (LikeToKnowIt) (Global): A shopping app where influencers can curate products and earn commission from their followers.
  

• Meesho (India): Empowers individuals and small businesses to resell products via social platforms like WhatsApp and Instagram.
  

• Tagger Media (Global): Combines data-driven insights with influencer commerce.
  

  

Why Twiva? 

 A Bridge for Dignity and Growth 🌍

• Africa’s youth have the talent, and SMEs have the need. Twiva connects them, creating a path to dignified work for creators and measurable growth for businesses. By addressing critical gaps in Africa’s social commerce ecosystem, Twiva is building more than a platform—it’s creating a sustainable future.
  

CAST YOUR VOTE 🗳️ 👇🏽

📢 EVENTS BOARD

Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2024 🇪🇪 🇰🇪

🎉🎉 Big News: We are excited to announce that the second edition of Latitude59 Kenya will take place on November 28, 2024, bringing together innovators, investors, and ecosystem builders from across Africa and Europe to discuss key topics such as startup growth, funding, and market entry strategies.

This November, Latitude59 joins forces with Tech Safari to open doors to East Africa and connect the international tech community. The event will offer an unparalleled opportunity to engage with leading founders, VCs, and policymakers from both continents, focusing on how European-African partnerships can drive tech innovation and investment.

“Latitude59 Kenya Edition 2023 was even bigger and more successful than we dared to hope. And this is just the beginning of our bigger vision of building a Global Village, bringing diverse communities together to make the tech world more human. Working on another continent was a new challenge for our team, but it was an amazing experience, well worth it, and we are so proud of what we put together,”.

- Liisi Org, the CEO of Latitude59.

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