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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Kenya’s leading mobile provider, Safaricom, is teaming up with data collection startup mSurvey to launch Consumer Wallet ― an online platform using mobile and SMS to map Africa’s cash-based economy.

A beta version of the product goes live in Kenya this month. Safaricom and mSurvey are testing the app with potential clients and corporate partners, including McKinsey Consulting, mSurvey CEO Kenfield Griffith told TechCrunch.

Consumer Wallet will be available on a subscription and license basis as early as August 2017. “We are refining the product with a group of potential clients to design the pricing model,” said Griffith. “We are scaling it along Kenya, but also looking beyond because we are not just solving a Kenyan problem, we are solving an African problem.”

Griffith was referring to the challenge many business face of quantifying consumer spending habits and trends on the continent, where more than 50 percent of economic activity and employment occurs in informal sectors, according to the African Development Bank.

Based in Kenya and operating since 2012, mSurvey harnesses Africa’s shift to digital to better track consumer preferences. The startup employs mobile phone-based surveys to gather data on various topics and market segments.