Rwazi has raised $12 million in Series A funding to revolutionize how companies gather real-time consumer insights across global markets. Led by Bonfire Ventures—with participation from Santa Barbara Ventures, Newfund, and Alumni Ventures—the funding will fuel the expansion of Rwazi’s AI-driven platform, support talent acquisition, and enhance its market intelligence capabilities. In 2023, the company raised a $4 million seed round, also led by Bonfire Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Joseph Rutakangwa and Eric Sewankambo, Rwazi aims to bridge the data gap that has long existed in emerging markets. The company collects what it calls zero-party data—consumption data shared voluntarily by consumers during their daily routines—offering businesses a clearer, real-time understanding of market behavior across 190 countries.
Before launching Rwazi, Rutakangwa spent years trying to source meaningful consumer data from emerging economies such as India, Brazil, Nigeria, and Turkey. He found traditional sources like government stats or syndicated reports unreliable, fragmented, or outdated. This sparked the idea for Rwazi: a platform that enables multinational brands like Coca-Cola, Pampers, Nestlé, and Visa to access validated, first-hand consumer insights.
Unlike legacy firms like GFK and Ipsos, Rwazi’s competitive edge lies in its AI-powered infrastructure that delivers actionable insights—not just data models. It provides companies with both visibility and guidance on what steps to take based on evolving customer behaviors.
According to Rutakangwa, this latest round of funding will support the scale-up of their AI co-pilot, helping clients make smarter, faster decisions. He described the fundraising process as selective, focused on finding investors aligned with their long-term vision of transforming how market data is sourced in underserved regions.
“We’re proving that reliable, real-time insight doesn’t have to come from traditional surveys or panels,” Rutakangwa said. “It can be built into consumers’ daily lives—captured, validated, and delivered instantly.”
With a growing customer base primarily in the U.S. and Europe, and a data network spanning 190 countries, Rwazi is positioning itself at the forefront of the next generation of consumer intelligence platforms—built in Africa, designed for the world.
