Duck

Duck (also referred to as Duck Analytics) is a retail data intelligence company serving fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) brands. Its platform monitors stock, sales and promotions by store and by SKU across retail outlets, and issues alerts when conditions require action. Alert categories described on the company's site include stockouts (which SKUs are likely to run out, where demand remains active, and which stores to replenish first), store execution gaps (underperforming stores, weak SKUs and the field actions to prioritise), pricing and promotion issues (shelf prices diverging from plan, underperforming promotions and trade-spend leakage), and competitor movement (where competitors are gaining share and which SKUs drive the shift).

According to press coverage of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Class 10, Duck pulls live sales and stock data from supermarket checkout systems, giving consumer brands visibility into what is selling, where, and when to restock. The company positions its output as data delivered into customers' existing tools. Duck was co-founded by Alex Mativo and Michelle Watiki, who serves as Chief Operating Officer; the company addresses the data gap between FMCG brands and retailers by giving enterprise clients visibility into product performance beyond the warehouse.

Founding story

Michelle Watiki studied chemical engineering at Aston University and completed a fully funded master's degree before working at Rolls-Royce in the UK. Motivated by a long-standing entrepreneurial interest that began with selling Kenyan waist beads and later makeup products at age 16, she left her corporate role and returned to Kenya, where she teamed up with co-founder Alex Mativo to launch Duck Analytics.

Business model

Duck sells retail shelf intelligence to FMCG brands as enterprise software, with prospective customers directed to book a pilot or contact sales; data is delivered into the customer's existing tools.

Traction

Selected in April 2026 for the 10th cohort of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, a programme that received roughly 2,600 applications for 15 places. Duck is a Techstars '24 alumnus and hosts an annual Retail Data Ecosystem Mixer in Nairobi bringing together banks, telcos and FMCG players.

Latest developments

In April 2026 Duck was named to Class 10 of the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, a three-month hybrid programme running 13 April to 19 June 2026 that provides mentorship, AI and machine learning workshops, up to USD 350,000 in Google Cloud credits per startup, and access to Google's investor network at demo day.