We recently connected with Joseph Elvis Akwaah Lamptey and have shared our conversation below.

Joseph Elvis Akwaah, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My newest baby Kaya, a multi vendor B2B Marketplace began not from Silicon Valley but in the bustling heart of Birmingham where my co-founder Samuel and I were having conversations over drinks and barbecue on our shared vision to empower businesses back in Africa.

At different stages of our lives our experiences revolved around FMCGs in different capacities, as direct employees and distributors. The experiences gathered coupled with industry knowledge painted a stark image of how FMCG businesses are drowning in a sea of unreliable suppliers, opaque pricing and fragmented communication channels.

Armed with fintech expertise and my co-founder with deep understanding of supply chain woes we knew we had to leverage technology to resolve challenges in the industry and create a platform that streamlined payments and fostered trust.

I am excited about Kaya because it isn’t just another B2B platform developed from some abstract market analysis but a revolution built by Africans for Africans based on lived experiences and the determination to change the narrative.

Kaya us more than just a platform; it’s a movement to transform the FMCG landscape in Africa.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Joseph Elvis Akwaah Lamptey, Co-Founder of Kaya Multivendor B2B Marketplace and Head of Growth & Strategy for PayAngel, a cross-border remittance and payments service.

I have over a decade cross industry experience spanning from supply chain, banking, sales, and currently a results-driven financial services professional with expertise in optimising operations, project management and business analysis to drive growth and profitability.

Kaya, my new baby was a eureka moment to bridge an identified gap of the lack of a trusted B2B platform to streamline fragmented supply chain, opaque pricing and transparency plaguing the FMCG landscape.

Kaya will serve as a B2B marketplace built for Africa to fuel growth and empower FMCG heroes. We understand the unique challenges and opportunities of the continent. We also believe collaboration is key hence we aspire to foster a vibrant community where FMcG businesses can connect, share best practices and thrive. We connect businesses to a curated network of verified suppliers offering transparency in their pricing and seamless communication.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My co-founder is a supply chain management consultant working with Accenture UK. We are both African migrants from Ghana who moved to pursue MBA degrees. Our paths crossed at a nightclub in Birmingham where a mutual friend had invited us to party after a hectic week. Our energies synced with our first conversation when we realised we were driven by a common goal to make a global impact and live life to the fullest. Our late Sunday afternoon rendezvous where we usually have barbecue, drinks and special tuo zaafi and green soup prepared by my co-founder’s wife was where Kaya was conceived.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Interestingly most people assume funding is the most important factor in starting a business but I beg to differ. Funding is the last thing you should think about when you want to start any business. Before my co-founder and I decided to bootstrap to start our business we focused less on funding and more on how to build a community, create and meet demand, and finally ensure our business was sustainable because it will be hinged on cash flow. I am of the school of thought that if you have a viable business you’ll attract investment so the first step is to find customers who have a real need for the solution you’re providing. We aspire to raise funds later in our business lifecycle when we have created and maintained enough demand and we are able to equally supply.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.kaya.com.gh
• Instagram: @kayamarketgh
• Facebook: Kaya Multivendor B2B Marketplace
• Linkedin: Kaya Multivendor B2B Marketplace