Kola Market, has been shortlisted for the Aurora Tech Awards 2023. The awards recognize women entrepreneurs who use technology to develop their communities and challenge gender inequality.
Founded by Marie-Reine Seshie, Kola.Market helps SMEs grow by simplifying how retailers and wholesalers order inventory from distributors. The platform leverages AI and other digital tools to provide marketing, consistent sales and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their RaaS (Results-as-a-Service) intelligent forecasting uses machine learning and proprietary, predictive models to generate the most accurate orders for your stores.
With Kola AI, SMEs understand their buying trends and cash flow cycles, uncover smart inventory management insights and ascertain credit scores that enable access to adequate financing.
Kola seeks to help SMEs sell out and grow their income. According to the World Bank, a $245 million financing gap exists for SMEs in Sub-saharan Africa, and approximately 75% of SMEs need access to adequate financing. Globally, over $1 trillion is lost due to overstocking or understocking, and kola exists to close these gaps.
This year’s shortlist includes 22 female contestants worldwide, with Marie-Reine Seshie selected from Ghana. Other shortlisted founders include Kenya’s Elizabeth Mnwangi (Gwiji for Women, Nigeira’s Cynthia Asije from (Craftmerce Inc) and India’s Namya Mahajan (Rocket Learning), among others.
Source: Technovagh