South African startup Tetafi has built an AI-powered financial management platform that helps informal businesses, startups and entrepreneurs manage their daily transactions through a conversational interface on WhatsApp.
Founded by Roman Gula in 2023, Tetafi allows business owners to track their transactions via WhatsApp, but also connects them with financial products like loans and buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, empowering them to access the capital they need to grow, without the pressure of formalising.
As many as 3.3 million informal businesses in South Africa lack financial inclusion, as 15 per cent remain financially excluded, and half of informal businesses agree that the main challenge they face is sourcing funds.
Tetafi fills this gap by providing an accessible, easy-to-use solution that doesn’t require formalisation and is delivered through a platform that these businesses are already familiar with. South Africa has a 94 per cent WhatApp adoption rate.
Gula told Disrupt Africa he founded Tetafi after seeing firsthand the challenges faced by informal businesses in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
“I worked with an informal business that had been in operation for more than five years and they were still struggling to secure funding due to lack of financial records and credibility,” he said. “Many of these entrepreneurs are excluded from traditional financial systems simply because they don’t have formal records. We founded Tetafi to bridge the financial accessibility gap.”
After securing grant funding from the Tony Elumelu Foundation to build its MVP, Tetafi is in the process of onboarding its first set of users.
“There’s been a lot of interest from informal businesses who see the value in managing their finances better and accessing funding options. Also, we’re actively engaging with various stakeholders in the ecosystem, such as local entrepreneurs and community organisations, who support entrepreneurship and local businesses,” Gula said.
“Their interest and feedback are invaluable as we work on building a strong foundation to ensure we’re providing real value to our users while addressing the needs of the broader community.”
To help it expand its platform and further rollout, Tetafi is exploring additional fundraising opportunities, and recently took part in the UCT GSB e-Track programme. Gula said it is for now solely focused on the South African market, with a particular emphasis on the 3.3 million informal business and township communities.
“Our goal is to establish a strong presence here before looking at other African markets where financial access challenges are similar. There’s potential for Tetafi to make an impact across African countries, and expansion is definitely part of our long-term strategy,” he said.
The startup has a diverse revenue model, with subscription packages for users, and commissions earned from the financial products it facilitates. Gula said one of its main challenges has been building trust with both informal businesses and potential financial partners.
“Informal businesses are often sceptical of new platforms, so we’ve had to work hard to communicate the value that Tetafi brings. On the partner side, convincing lenders to support informal businesses has been a hurdle, as they’re often viewed as high-risk. We’re addressing these challenges by demonstrating the strength of our model and the potential impact of serving this market,” he said.
