Address verification remains a significant challenge in Africa, where infrastructure for addressing is often underdeveloped. In countries like Nigeria, accurate address verification is crucial for accessing financial services, including setting up bank accounts. However, inefficient methods like using utility bills or deploying physical agents make the process cumbersome, costly, and time-consuming.
This issue extends beyond financial inclusion, impacting socio-economic opportunities. A survey conducted by OkHi, a smart addressing startup, revealed that 78% of respondents in Nigeria needed to verify their address to secure employment. However, 50% lacked utility bills, and 57% faced difficulties verifying their addresses in certain situations.OkHi aims to address these challenges with its innovative technology. The startup recently secured $1.5 million in additional seed funding, bringing its total seed round to $3 million. Founded in 2014 by Timbo Drayson, a former Google product manager who helped launch Google Maps across EMEA, OkHi focuses on enabling digital address verification via smartphones. Drayson’s personal experiences during his travels in Africa inspired him to tackle the address verification issue, which he recognized as a global problem affecting over 4 billion people.
The OkHi Solution
OkHi integrates its services into mobile banking and fintech applications, enabling these platforms to collect and verify customer addresses digitally. The process allows users to create addresses by dropping a pin on a map, coupled with location data from their smartphones.
OkHi’s AI-powered engine verifies if a user resides at the specified address based on their phone’s activity.
Once verified, these addresses can be reused across OkHi’s partner networks, which include financial institutions like Stanbic IBTC and Interswitch. The company claims its solution is 30% more accurate, four times faster, and 50% cheaper than traditional methods like sending physical agents to verify addresses.
Market Potential and Expansion Plans
While OkHi currently operates in Nigeria, it has created addresses in 54 countries and sees growing demand from regions like Egypt, India, South America, and Southeast Asia. Despite these opportunities, the startup remains focused on Nigeria, aiming to onboard 1 million users in the next six months.
The company charges businesses approximately $1 per successful address verification and claims to have hundreds of thousands of users. Beyond financial services, OkHi plans to expand into sectors like e-commerce, food delivery, and emergency services.
Scaling Up
With the new funding, OkHi plans to double its team, hiring across engineering, sales, and product functions to accelerate growth. The startup operates remotely, with staff based in Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, and London. Investors in this round include Chapel Hill Denham, Flutterwave executives, and EXFI, along with existing backers like Founders Factory Africa and Interswitch Group. Chapel Hill Denham CEO Bolaji Balogun will also join OkHi’s board.
Differentiation in a Competitive Landscape
OkHi competes with platforms like YouVerify and VerifyMe in Nigeria’s identity and address verification space. However, Drayson emphasizes that OkHi’s approach focuses on addressing individuals rather than places. The company’s unique approach ensures verified addresses are tied to users, not just physical locations, offering a personalized solution that stands out in the market.
By addressing the complexities of location verification, OkHi is not only solving a pressing issue in Nigeria but also laying the groundwork for scalable solutions that could benefit underserved populations worldwide.
