Chekkit

Chekkit Technologies Corp. is a product verification and anti-counterfeiting technology company founded in 2018 and incorporated in Nigeria and the USA. Its platform lets consumers confirm that packaged medicines, food, beverages, cosmetics and other consumer goods are genuine, while giving manufacturers a direct channel to those consumers. Verification is performed through the ChekkitApp mobile application or by dialling a USSD shortcode against GS1-standard serial codes printed on product packaging.

The product suite comprises ChekkitApp (consumer verification with instant rewards), ChekIntel (first-party consumer data and market insight for brands), ChekTrace (serialization aligned with GS1 and NAFDAC/FDA guidelines, described as compliant in over 100 countries and implementable without new production-line equipment) and ChekTrack (consumer verification plus collection of insights on side effects, drug efficacy, purchase patterns and sales locations). Related solutions cover consumer loyalty, retailer loyalty, supply chain track-and-trace and real-time asset tracking for logistics and storage. The company describes its stack as blockchain-powered, using a distributed ledger to secure the unique identifiers it generates or ingests from ERP partners, preventing duplication of serial codes and protecting consumer personal data.

Customers and counterparties named by the company include pharmaceutical firms Merck, Royal Star Pharma and Nabros Pharmaceutical, and consumer brands Indomie, Nivea and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Chekkit has also worked with regulatory and standards bodies including NAFDAC, GS1 and the FCCPC, and deployed a COVID-19 engagement solution with the African Union and Africa CDC.

Founding story

Chekkit Technologies Corp. was founded in 2018 by Dare Odumade, supported by co-founders Oluwatosin Adelowo and Samuel Ukhueleigbe, to offer product verification and anti-counterfeiting technology and give manufacturers a way to engage consumers directly.

Business model

Chekkit sells authentication, serialization, traceability and consumer-intelligence software to manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, NGOs and regulators, including a traceability and consumer-intelligence SaaS offering listed on the SAP store and integrated with SAP Advanced Track and Trace for Pharmaceuticals. Serialized GS1 codes applied to packaging are scanned by end consumers, generating verification events and survey data that are returned to the brand.

Software-as-a-service for consumer brands covering end-to-end loyalty campaigns, engagement-data aggregation and reward distribution, alongside serialization and traceability software for manufacturers.

Traction

The company states that over 100 million medicine, food, beverage and cosmetics products have been certified through its platform. At the time of its 2023 funding announcement it reported having helped secure over 50 million pharmaceutical and consumer goods products; at the 2021 pre-seed announcement it reported over 7 million pharmaceutical products secured, more than 200,000 consumers protected, and an expanded partnership with the Afghan government covering verification and tracking of over 200 million products.

Latest developments

In April 2023 Chekkit announced additional funding from Adaverse, a Cardano ecosystem accelerator, with participation from existing investors RTA, HoaQ, Launch Africa and Blockchain Founders Fund, to be used for scaling the team, technology and product distribution and for launching in India and the UK. The raise followed the company's announcement as the first approved GS1/NAFDAC traceability solutions provider in Nigeria, ahead of NAFDAC serialization rules taking effect from the end of 2024.