Entrepreneurship is booming in Africa, with over one in five Africans starting their own business. This wave of new business owners is largely propelled by young people, who make up the majority of sub-Saharan Africa’s population, and entrepreneurs who embrace technology to build their businesses.

Clinton Obura is among the many Africans launching innovative businesses on the continent. Born in Homabay, Kenya, he grew up near the shores of Lake Victoria, where fish was not just a source of sustenance but also an economic driver. “Growing up, I saw firsthand the inefficiencies in the fish value chain — high post-harvest losses, unpredictable pricing for fish farmers, and limited access to quality fish for consumers,” he says. “These challenges, coupled with the increasing demand for sustainable protein sources, inspired me to create Samaking.” His company Samaking is a scalable startup that aims to transform the fish value chain to create an ecosystem that benefits fish farmers, retailers, and consumers alike. It enables small business owners to launch and operate fish retail franchises through better supply chain infrastructure and direct-to-market linkages, all strengthened by technology.

As a business owner, Clinton needed simple, effective solutions to manage and expand his business. He has both retail customers, individuals and families who want to buy high-quality fish for their households, and B2B clients, like hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets serving and selling seafood. Looking for a way to manage his growing customer base and convert inquiries into customers, he found SUKHIBA, which enabled him to use WhatsApp as part of their tech stack. SUKHIBA is an AI-powered conversational commerce and CRM platform built on WhatsApp.

Based in Kenya, SUKHIBA supports businesses across Africa by enabling them to manage sales, marketing, chats with customers, operations, and payments in one platform. Accion Venture Lab invested in SUKHIBA last year to support them on their journey to create a more efficient and inclusive B2B ecosystem where small businesses can succeed. Businesses use the SUKHIBA platform to conduct conversations with manufacturers, distributors, and customers, manage their inventory, and accept payments.

Many businesses like Clinton’s already use WhatsApp to engage with their customers. Though some customers are not tech-savvy or comfortable using e-commerce platforms, they already actively use WhatsApp and embrace using it to communicate with businesses and place orders. “It’s the default operating system in markets where you see small businesses already talking to different manufacturers and distributors on WhatsApp,” says SUKHIBA CEO Ananth Gudipati. “We meet you where you are and create orders, payments, credit, everything, in the same infrastructure. We are tapping into an existing behavior pattern of retailers and small businesses and then enhancing that with efficiencies.”

SUKHIBA’s solution streamlines WhatsApp conversations and helps convert them into sales. Many customers ask the same questions and make similar requests, so SUKHIBA’s use of AI allows them to create automated flows to manage routine inquiries. “Since our e-commerce solution is built on top of WhatsApp, SUKHIBA’s platform has helped us manage customer interactions efficiently, track orders, and respond faster to inquiries. This has significantly improved our response times and customer satisfaction, particularly as we scale our retail operations,” says Clinton. When Samaking started using SUKHIBA’s platform, they saw a 50 percent increase in topline revenue. Now, they conduct all of their business on the platform.

SUKHIBA’s platform appeals to a new wave of African entrepreneurs like Clinton, who are driven and ready to invest in systems that can take their business to the next level. Samaking currently has six employees, covering operations, supply chain, sales, and technology. SUKHIBA’s solutions help small business owners to grow despite their small teams – integrating their customer communications, setting up an AI chatbot, embedding payment platforms, and accepting orders, all in one place.

Clinton has a strong vision for the future of his business. “Our goal is to make fish the #1 protein on African plates by expanding our retail footprint, improving our upstream sourcing capabilities, and building a seamless supply chain. Over the next few years, we aim to scale to over 60 retail outlets in Kenya, establish strong B2B partnerships, and enhance traceability and sustainability using digital tools to support local fish farmers,” he says. With a frictionless solution like SUKHIBA, driven and innovative entrepreneurs like Clinton can take their businesses to the next level.