Nigerian startup Tanda has launched to build infrastructure to digitise informal markets in Africa.
Launched last month, Tanda enables local market merchants – many of whom have never sold online before – to list and sell products digitally through a system designed around the existing market structures.
“Rather than treating informal commerce as fragmented, we integrate directly with unions and market clusters, allowing us to onboard merchants through trusted leadership networks,” founder and CEO Vincent Ibekwe told Techdesk Africa.
The platform supports digital product listings, local and remote purchasing, wholesale pricing for bulk buyers and resellers, escrow and fulfillment coordination, and AI-powered voice and chat commerce assistance.
“Our goal is to bring underserved merchants into the digital economy while creating a true last-mile commerce layer for African markets,” Ibekwe said.
Millions of merchants operating in informal markets remain excluded from digital commerce due to lack of technical literacy, absence of trust infrastructure, weak logistics coordination, and poor onboarding systems. Plus, most existing commerce platforms in Africa are optimised for formal businesses and digitally experienced sellers.
“Our approach differs because we are building through market unions rather than individual acquisition, designing for low-tech accessibility through AI voice and chat systems, and focusing on informal market infrastructure rather than just storefront creation,” said Ibekwe.
Tanda is currently bootstrapped while engaging in early-stage fundraising discussions.
“We’re now beginning active rollout within our target market communities and onboarding through the union-led structure we previously discussed,” Ibekwe. “The early response has been encouraging so far, and we’re now focused on monitoring merchant activity, transactions, onboarding flow, and platform stability as usage increases.”
