Tausi App has been named Kenya’s regional winner of the Startup World Cup, securing the opportunity to represent the country at the next stage of the global competition.
The Nairobi-based BeautyTech company is building a digital platform for independent beauty professionals, allowing them to manage bookings, connect with customers and grow their businesses without relying on a physical salon. The initiative could help make beauty services more accessible while giving professionals a practical way to reach a wider market.
Tausi App Targets Growth in the Beauty Services Market
Tausi App was co-founded by CEO Amos Kimani and COO and co-founder Wathua Kariuki. The company aims to build what it describes as Africa’s most trusted beauty service brand by connecting customers with skilled and verified beauticians through technology.
Service providers can list their services, manage bookings and serve customers through the platform, while clients can access beauty professionals more conveniently and on demand. By reducing the dependence on physical salon locations, Tausi App is creating another route for beauty professionals to build sustainable businesses and reach more customers.
Its Startup World Cup win gives the company an opportunity to take its model to a wider stage and demonstrate how African startups can use technology to develop solutions for local markets.
The competition also recognised two other Kenyan startups as runners-up, each addressing a different business and social challenge.
Zuripacks, founded by Oliver Omondi, is developing biodegradable packaging from agricultural waste, with a particular focus on banana pseudostems. The social enterprise seeks to reduce dependence on plastic bags and conventional packaging by turning an underused farming by-product into useful packaging materials.
The company sources banana pseudostems that are commonly discarded after harvesting and extracts natural fibres from them. These fibres are then used to produce products such as carrier bags and customised packaging. Zuripacks is also focused on keeping its alternatives affordable, recognising that cost remains an important factor in encouraging businesses and consumers to adopt environmentally friendly packaging.
Technology and Innovation Across Key Sectors
Hokela Interactive Africa, founded by Jerry Calvin Mwenda, is tackling challenges in product distribution and last-mile retail. Its Hokela 360 platform uses artificial intelligence to help brands understand and manage activity across informal markets.
Through its Agents on Demand model, Hokela can deploy trained field teams in under 48 hours. AI-powered heatmaps help identify opportunity areas, stock shortages and competitor activity, while real-time dashboards provide brands and distributors with information they can use to make faster decisions.
The company was created in response to the limited visibility many brands face within Africa’s large informal trade sector. Hokela aims to combine technology with human field teams to improve distribution, strengthen market visibility and help products reach customers more efficiently, including those in remote areas.
