Duhqa

Duhqa operates a business-to-business retail distribution platform that links manufacturers, farmers and distributors with formal and informal retailers, with a focus on the small informal microstores known in Kenya as "dukas." Retailers use a mobile app to browse and order from catalogues spanning categories such as foodstuff, farm produce and inputs, personal care and hygiene, beauty, household consumer goods and appliances, construction materials, energy, health, and school and office supplies. Orders are stated to be delivered within six hours of placement on weekdays. The platform also offers short-term credit for inventory purchases, with the company describing loan approval within seconds, and multiple payment options. Product categories reported in press coverage include FMCG, cold chain and pharmaceuticals.

On the supply side, manufacturers, farmers and distributors gain access to formal and informal retail channels plus dashboards showing delivery locations, key performance indicators and brand performance data; they can book merchandising, run in-shop marketing campaigns and product giveaways. A third leg of the marketplace is a rider network — the company recruits drivers with motorcycles, vans, tuktuks and trucks for delivery work, under a brand also presented on the site as Bwala. Duhqa runs an asset-light model, owning neither vehicles nor warehouses and instead working with third-party logistics providers.

The company positions itself against the fragmentation of African formal and informal retail markets, which it says makes sourcing and delivery slow, complex and expensive. It has also been described as an AgriFinTech/FoodTech company that assists farmers with procurement, distribution and financing.