The African tech ecosystem, which is undergoing a period of rapid growth and transformation, is a place of opportunity. This article was contributed by Kola Aina to TechCabal. The key to sustainable success is a powerful word: Trust. Trust is said to be the cornerstone for long-term viability in business. It is the foundation of all relationships between organisations and their stakeholder groups, and defines a company’s capability to operate, lead and thrive. It helps companies retain users and, in an age “where everyone has glass jaws,” it can help them better withstand crises. Without it, reputations and credibility suffer. Trust, on the other hand, allows institutions to take calculated risks, recover from failures, and build resilience with time. It is the foundation for consumer confidence, attracts discerning investor, and determines if nascent enterprises thrive.
In African countries that are often frothy with multiple taxes and inconsistent regulation it is incumbent on entrepreneurs to create pockets of enabling environments in their firms and respective eco-systems to ignite trust.
Take a look at this: A 2021 A study conducted by Klasha and TechCabal reveals a lack of trust between African businesses, and their consumers. Both parties are concerned about hidden charges, negative past experiences, online transaction safety, return policies and regulations, product quality, reliability of delivery, and inadequate consumer protection laws. In business, and especially in SMEs, trust is cultivated more through relationships than transactions. This highlights the cultural importance of personal connections. These dynamics highlight the need for African tech firms, especially digital platforms, prioritise trust-building as an essential strategic imperative. Scale is impossible without trust.
Financial services sector provides additional insights on trust as a dynamic. According to McKinsey’s 2021 In a report about the African financial services industry, 67% of customers who banked expressed more trust in traditional banks compared to fintech companies. This gap has narrowed but key segments, including digitally savvy consumers, middle-aged consumers, and affluent customersare still wary. Some of the most common pain points are poor user experiences, insufficient value-added service (such as estate planning or advisory support), inefficiencies such as slow complaint resolution and cumbersome applications. These issues highlight the need for fintech companies and digital-first businesses to embed trust-enhancing features into their platforms at the very beginning.
A portfolio company, Piggyvest, are renowned for surviving the various risks caused by rumors on social media. It’s always a pleasure to watch the millions of users of the platform defend a product that they have come to love and trust. By deliberately building trust, you can inadvertently cultivate brand advocates who will be loyal to your brand and increase your net promoter scores (NPS), which is a measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty that can be an indicator of trust for your brand. A high NPS shows that your customers are satisfied and trust your brand to recommend it. This is a testament to the trust that you have built. This essay provides a practical framework to build trust in the African tech eco-system. It provides founders with practical insights to navigate the complexity of scaling in such a unique environment. By prioritizing the importance of trust at all stages, from design to implementation, founders can position themselves for sustainable growth and success.
Beyond hype: Building a solid foundation of trust
We earn trust by being transparent about what we are going to do, why we are doing it, and what we have promised.( Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance ().
According a 2024 report by PwC Reportshows that 41% of executives believe that a lack investor trust can put the cost of capital in danger, while 38% point out its impact on market value and access to capital. This highlights a crucial fact: building trust is not just about satisfying customers. It’s the cornerstone for broader success, influencing everything ranging from financial stability to growth over the long term.
African entrepreneurs can cultivate trust by focusing on four key pillars: strong leadership, robust financial processes and strategic branding. They also need to achieve exceptional sales and customer satisfaction.
- Establishing a strong governance: The importance of a solid Board
A trusted organisation is built on the foundation of good governance. Strong governance is the foundation for accountability, strategic guidance, and oversight. These are all critical to inspiring confidence among stakeholders in Africa’s complex regulatory landscape.
A robust structure for governance is essential. This goes beyond compliance. It’s about establishing an ethical culture that promotes transparency, accountability and integrity. A board of directors with diverse expertise, a commitment to creating long-term value and a competent and independent board will hold executives accountable and help to establish the foundation for an organisation that adheres best practices. A board of directors with reputable personalities can also help score extra points, as their credibility can boost the company’s perception of trust.
- Strengthening finance function: Building Financial Discipline
The backbone of every trusted enterprise is financial management. It is more than just keeping the books in order; it also builds confidence through transparency, honesty, and resilience. A strong finance function allows a company to navigate uncertainty, attract investments, and reassure partners and customers of its stability.
A sound Treasury Management System will ensure that inflows and outflows are well-matched and that customer funds aren’t commingled together with company overheads. This is a problem that we see all too often and leads to a bridge between customer trust.
- Crafting an effective brand: The power and consistency of storytelling
Founders need to identify what makes their company unique and communicate it clearly across all channels. A strong brand is not just a logo, or tagline. It is the sum of all interactions and impressions consumers have with a business. This is a good time to recall the title of Ben Horowitz’s latest book: “What you do, is who you are.” A compelling story that reflects customer experience and resonates well with an audience is able to transform skepticism in markets where trust can be hard-earned into loyalty.
The value proposition of a brand should align with its target audience’s needs and aspirations. Piggyvest, a classic brand that has enjoyed great success on the basis of its trusted reputation, is a good example. Piggyvest () More on how the company achieved this.
EFInA – Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Report 2023 illustrates a correlation between effective storytelling and awareness, as well as communication, with consumer trust in formal (nonbank) products such fintech apps.
- Delivering outstanding sales and customer success: The humanelement.
Sales, and customer success, are often the most direct customer interactions with a brand. They are therefore crucial in building and maintaining customer trust. Customer experiences that are exceptional not only exceed expectations, but also turn satisfied customers into brand advocates.
Personalisation is the key to success. Customers want to be valued and understood. Businesses that tailor their interactions according to individual needs can foster stronger relations. Founders must invest in training sales and customer success staff to respond to customer queries with empathy. The technology can help these efforts because it provides data-driven insights to anticipate customer needs and track levels of satisfaction. This is particularly important for virtual businesses without a physical storefront. In these situations, the resolution time can be a determining factor between a brand that is trusted and one that is associated with risk.
Flunais a great example of a business that embodies the ideals. Fluna has built a reputation for understanding and meeting the unique needs of African businesses. The company has developed lasting relationships with clients by offering tailored solutions and keeping open lines of communication. The company’s proactive communication, rapid issue resolution, and culture to exceed expectations has made it a preferred partner of many of its clients today.
How do you get 5 million Nigerians saving on a digital platform using trust?
Odunayo, Somto, and Joshua Chibueze, in 2018, set out to change Nigeria’s traditional savings model. Their bold vision led to the creation ofPiggyVest,a platform which has redefined financial discipline for millions. PiggyVest now boasts 5.5 million users, a huge leap from its 700 users when it was first launched. The company has seen a 76% increase in Assets Under Management since its inception. It has also paid out over N2 trillion to users. PiggyVest’s success was not unnoticed. In 2024, CNBC named PiggyVest one of the top 250 Fintechs in the world.
These achievements highlight one undeniable fact:Trust has been the bedrock for PiggyVest’s successHow did the company create and maintain this trust?
In April 2018, PiggyVest had 700 users. By December, this number had increased to 1,200. Only 400 of these users were active savers and collectively they saved N21 million. PiggyVest’s dedication to delivering on prom ises has led to exponential growth despite its modest beginnings.
The quarterly Free Withdrawal Days were a key feature in building trust. This feature allowed users the freedom to withdraw their savings at designated times without incurring penalties. Users who experienced first-hand the reliability of the feature – receiving their money and the promised interest – took to social media platforms to share their positive experience. X (formerly Twitter) was the most popular. Early adopters became brand advocates, boosting PiggyVest’s reputation organically. The PiggyVest team focused on improving user experiences, enhancing services, and leveraging the data to develop features that users actually needed. By the end
of 2018, the user base grew from 700 to 2,000. This growth was primarily due to word-of mouth and social proof.
In 2022, PiggyVest had over 4 million users. Odunayo eweniyi, in an interview, reflected on the rapid growth of PiggyVest and shared a simple but profound insight.First, we improved our customer service. We make sure that every word on our site is trueas a promise made to users.
PiggyVest exemplifies the core branding principle that a brand is a promise kept. When promises are consistently kept, trust becomes tangible. This leads to loyalty and advocacy which propels growth. Trust was not just a strategy for PiggyVest; it became the basis of a movement which revolutionised the way Nigerians save money and build wealth.
To conclude, it’s helpful to distill down a simple definition for trust. Predictability over a period of time. Customers will “trust” a company that has a history of providing subpar customer service. They’ll still trust the company to provide subpar customer experiences because that’s what it has done for years – with serious consequences. If you still doubt this, the PwC Trust in Business Survey 2021, which states that 71% would purchase less from a company if they lost their trust, and 73% would significantly reduce spending if the same happened, should help you.
— Kola Aina is the Founding partner of
Ventures Platformand Ventures Platform.This early-stage VC funds invests in innovative startup companies across Africa.
