OZÉ - We unlock the value of data in the African market

OZÉ is the first business insights engine that allows small-and-growing businesses in Africa to make data-driven decisions and get curated business training that matches their needs. OZÉ is on a mission to foster the economic development in Africa by empowering entrepreneurs with the tools they need.

OZÉ is the first business insights engine designed for African small businesses. It was created using a design-thinking process to address the pain points of African entrepreneurs, giving them the tools they want and need to manage their business with data-driven decisions.

OZÉ enables small-and-growing businesses to easily collect transaction data and transforms it into actionable business insights, budgets, and financial statements. Improved performance, new networks, and formalized financials allow the entrepreneur to access financing to accelerate growth. It also identifies capacity gaps through the users' behavior and provides curated training.

OZÉ creates community: entrepreneurs will be connected, collaborate, communicate and inspire each other.

Extremely high youth unemployment rates in Africa perpetuate generational cycles of poverty and erode social cohesion. It’s up to the small business sector, the sector that creates 80% of low-income jobs, to solve the problem.  Are they up to the task of creating the 10+ million new jobs needed each year in Africa? No! They have inadequate systems of management, untailored training, no data and little access to capital. 

At OZÉ, we believe that technology and access to data will empower small entrepreneurs in Africa to make better decisions and take their businesses to a stage of sustainable growth. This empowerment will ultimately improve the livelihood of the youth, having them full access to the value of technology and data. 

OZÉ was created using a design-thinking process and gives African entrepreneurs the tools they need to be flexible and adaptive, while providing them with the technical and critical thinking skills they need to succeed.

This is how the landscape of the labor market in Africa starts to change...

OZÉ enables small- and growing-business owners to have access to the data that will help them make better decisions and sustainably grow. 

We unlock the value of data in the African market, increasing transparency and creating opportunities for entrepreneurs to contribute to the economic development of the region.

Ultimately, this transparency, improved performance and formal financial statements will increase access to finance while decreasing costs and risk associated with administering loans.

Track unique user accounts opened - 50,000 customers by the end of 2018

# of transactions recorded, # minutes spent on app/day - Created relevant content and useful tools for the entrepreneurs to succeed, increasing usage.

# business insights delivered and acted on, # curated training provided and rated by users, % increase in revenue, % increase in profit margins - Improved strategy of the entrepreneurs based on the insights provided & Improved understanding of their business or industry.

OZÉ is the first business insights engine that integrates all the information that a business needs to grow. We crowdsource transaction data in low information contexts to provide an entrepreneur with recommendations based not only on their performance but also greater market forces, trends, and contexts.

Our biggest competitive advantage comes from our deep knowledge of the market and unique design-thinking approach. By co-creating with our users, we solve for their real pain points in a way that works for them. In addition to our customer-focused strategy, we benefit from a strong first mover advantage and network externalities.

OZÉ was created using a unique design-thinking approach to identify the specific pain points of our target customer. We co-created the MVP solution with our users through ethnographic research and a collaborative workshop. Going forward user feedback will be integrated in our prototype. We treat users as partners and will continue evolving with them as we get more and more information.

Our pilot is deployed in Ghana. We are working closely with 26 pilot users to identify their needs and understand how they engage with OZÉ. We will keep integrating their feedback in later-stage prototypes. 

OZÉ will be accessible on Google Play. Through a freemium model, basic functionality will be available for free. Entrepreneurs will pay an affordable subscription fee to use more advanced features. Once sufficient data is generated, OZÉ will monetize it through premium services, reports, and/or product extensions.

The solution will be deployed through local partners who currently work for the development and success of local entrepreneurs and also through sales and marketing on social media. Network externalities are expected to have a great impact on our performance.

Our team has already budgeted the expenses for the pilot program and the preparation of our beta product.

At the end of this summer, once we gather the insights from our pilot and have enough data about our market and customers, we will get ready to raise a seed round of funding to cover for the cost of the beta testing and our launch to market.

We need to quickly respond to the needs of the users of our pilot and their feedback. Failing to do this will limit our success and the development of trust among our users.

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OZÉ uses human-centered technology to allow small-business owners in Africa to gain access to valuable data, empowering them to make data-driven decisions to grow their businesses. This will change the way the landscape for the workforce in the region, creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs. For OZÉ to reach its full potential, we need the power of the ecosystem and the community. We embrace the value of open innovation and we are driven by the conviction that big problems can be solved one step at a time. SOLVE is the ideal next step for us to succeed in our mission.

MassChallenge Boston, MIT Legatum Center for Development & Entrepreneurship, MIT Sandbox, PayPal, Peace Corps, MEST, Ashesi University

TaroWorks, TrackVia, Roambi, Quickbooks, FactSet, Vectron, Uhasibu (in different verticals)