OkHi a smart addressing startup, based in Nairobi, has partnered with Interswitch to launch in Africa’s largest market, Nigeria.
The partnership aims to provide 195-million Nigerians with access to a physical address. This will in turn lead to accelerating the eCommerce sector and ensuring financial inclusion.
The launch in Nigeria will reportedly save the economy $2-billion a year and accelerate innovation across the economy.
Smart addressing systems allow people to attach a phone number, email address, and their account details to make convenient payments without having to remember account details and the Bank State Branch number.
The startup addresses the issue of lack of postal addressing infrastructure by utilising a GPS pin that is connected to an individual’s name and phone number. It allows businesses to receive accurate address information to ensure delivery time is not delayed.
In an official press release, Timbo Drayson, CEO, and co-founder of OkHi explains that the partnership will utilise Interswitch’s expertise and technology to increase inclusivity.
Speaking on the partnership, Jonah Adams, Interswitch Group’s Divisional Chief Executive Officer for Industry Vertical Markets said the new address verification engine will constantly verify locations that will reduce time, cost, and risk.
“Our partnership with, and investment into OkHi is premised on their vision and capacity to execute collaboratively, to drive e-commerce growth across key African markets by mitigating the bottlenecks which are stifling growth. Whilst digital payments remain our key focus, we see the bigger picture, identifying opportunities to unlock significant economic value through trusted address verification.”
The expansion in Nigeria aligns with the startup’s main objective which is to provide the reported 4-billion people without a physical address the opportunity to be included. OkHi believes that having an address is a human right.
