The discussion of Big data and how societies can best come up with innovative ideas to solve the wide variety of challenges has been one of the interesting topics in the technology world in the past recent years. Startups are harnessing the power of this 21st century oilfield and we are noticing the impact of using data driven decision in almost every sector from Fintech services where applications can be used to better sales and service strategies to agriculture where data is used to increase operational efficiency. Healthcare sectors are using big data to find cures for diseases and improve the overall quality of living for their patients.
While Uganda lags behind compared to the international market in the adoption curves, locally there is an increasing number of big data startups and communities who are focusing to help businesses and individuals get most of their data and driving innovation in their sectors. Here are 5 startups in Uganda using data to help drive the decisions.
Swipe 2 Pay
Swipe 2 pay is a web and mobile payments solution that democratizes electronic payments for Small and Mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East African region by making it easy for them to accept mobile money and VISA as a mode of payment. They have a list of valuable tools in their dashboard which help the business owner view sales, orders and traffic to help assist them in decision making. Another useful feature is the ability to allow small business to sell airtime of all telecom networks and the business analytics portal designed to make numbers easy to understand.
Swipe2Pay makes it possible for SMEs to access finance using their business performance data with alternative credit scoring models. You can download their mobile app from Google PlayStore or visit their websites to register your business today.
AkelloBanker
Unlike other financial service providers who rely on financial information to issue cash credit to farmers, at AkelloBanker, they use data-enabled mobile technologies to offer products and services on credit. The platform is USSD, SMS & mobile money driven and utilizes credit scores as a basis for instant credit underwriting to borrowers.
They have a unique distribution channel which includes partnerships with rural SACCOS and merchants who are established in the communities which help them profile users, manage credit and conduct digital literacy.
The buzz at the moment in any startups is the ability to harness the power of a digital shared economy model and this startup seems to be doing just that by partnering with community tractor and medical providers among others. They won a grand prize worth US$15,000 last year so you might start hearing about their solutions soon when they start scaling the operations.
Asigma Data
ASIGMA is an East African firm that leverages data and technology to add value to organizations. It has three arm in Capital, Advisory and Data. ASIGMA develops locally adaptable business strategies for organizations by leveraging their operational experience, and expertise in data analytics and business intelligence integration. They develop and implements business cases with a specialty in renewable energy, agribusiness and digital financial services.
They recently announced a MOU with a Canadian based company GuildOne to explore the design, development, and implementation of blockchain-based hydrocarbon production reporting systems.
Development Initiative
Development Initiatives (DI) is an independent international development organization working on the use of data to drive poverty eradication and sustainable development. They have a huge database about the allocation of monetary transfers (e.g. grants and loans to governments and for project-type interventions) and non-monetary transfers (e.g. food aid, technical cooperation).
The data provided by the online hub can help facilitate decision makers with the most recent reports according to the resource flow along poverty, social and vulnerability indicators. The development data hub combines an extensive data store with interactive visualisations enabling you to chart, map and compare data at the global, national and local level.
You can check their spotlight on Uganda’s and get to know how the government finance and spend its budget.
Zindi Africa
Zindi is not a typical startups business which provide data solutions but rather a data science competition platform in Africa and they have an office in Uganda. They host an entire data science ecosystem of scientists, engineers, academics, companies, NGOs, governments, and institutions focused on solving Africa’s most pressing problems.
Zindi works with companies, non-profit organizations, and government institutions to develop, curate, and prepare data-driven challenges.
