Kenya’s Sukhiba raised $1.5 M Seed extension funding to scale in emerging markets

In order to grow throughout Africa and other emerging markets, Kenya’s Sukhiba, a cutting-edge conversational commerce and CRM platform, has successfully concluded a US $1.55 million seed extension round.

Sukhiba was founded in 2021 by Ananth Raj Gudipati and Abhinav Reddy. Based on WhatsApp, Sukhiba helps medium-sized and large businesses increase sales and customer retention by tailoring its services—including sales, marketing, customer support, payments, and more—around the WhatsApp platform.

Since 2023, the startup has grown significantly, and it now operates in eight markets in Africa and India, collaborating with leading retail chains, distributors, manufacturers, and direct-to-consumer brands. Through its merchant partners, more than 35,000 SMEs are already making purchases of goods and services.

After EQ2 Ventures led a US $1.55 million seed extension round, Sukhiba now plans to grow even more. Among the other elite investors taking part in the round are

Along with current investors CRE Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, Musha Ventures, and Quona Capital.

The recently obtained funding will play a crucial role in propelling Sukhiba’s growth throughout Africa and other developing economies. Prominent clients and investors endorse the company’s vision, demonstrating faith in its ability to establish itself as the go-to CRM and sales force automation platform for developing economies.

“Sukhiba is designed to bridge the gap between brands, manufacturers, distributors, and their customers in emerging markets by leveraging the ubiquitous nature of WhatsApp. This seed extension marks a significant milestone for us, enabling us to scale our operations and enhance our SaaS platform to better serve our growing customer base of manufacturers, distributors, and D2C brands,” said Gudipati.

EQ2 Ventures associate director Manish Phulwani described his team’s subsequent investment in Sukhiba as a “strong vote of confidence” after observing the team’s steady performance from the beginning.

“Their exceptional product mindset is rare, positioning them to lead the transition of business and consumer transactions to WhatsApp across emerging markets. We look forward to continuing this journey with the team,” he said.