The Zanzibar government and Wasoko, an African e-commerce startup that uses cutting-edge technology to change the unorganized retail supply chain, have officially launched the “Wasoko Innovation Hub.”
The new Hub, which is situated in Fumba Town, Zanzibar, will be home to over 500 forward-thinking engineers, product managers, UX designers, and researchers from Africa and around the world, and will concentrate on developing top-notch tech solutions that will power Africa’s e-commerce industry for years to come.
The Wasoko Innovation Hub is the first private-public cooperation between a tech startup in Africa and the government of Zanzibar as part of the island’s “Silicon Zanzibar” strategy, which aims to draw and settle tech firms from all over Africa.
Wasoko joins the launch as the first anchor company and recognized representative of the private sector for Silicon Zanzibar.
Wasoko’s CEO and founder, Daniel Yu, commented on the opening of the Innovation Hub: “As a Pan-African technology company, Wasoko has been searching for a location where we can gather the best talent from all over the continent and beyond to innovate and develop new products and services for our customers. Although we gave traditional locations like Dubai and London some thought, we ultimately remained steadfast in our conviction that technology for Africa should be developed in Africa.
The Wasoko Innovation Hub will be a part of the ongoing redevelopment of Fumba Town, which is being overseen by the German engineering company CPS. Fumba Town is being built up south of the Abeid Amani Karume International Airport, along a 1.5 km stretch of the ocean shore, with hundreds of contemporary homes and businesses being built there.
Wasoko has shipped 3 million orders to more than 75,000 unofficial retailers in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal since its start in 2016.
Wasoko is anticipated to attract over $15 million in investment over the next ten years, offering hundreds of Zanzibaris a wealth of employment and career opportunities.
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