BUSINESS PROFILE

What has your career looked like so far ?

I have a 10-year background in software and telecommunications and oversee the operations and product strategy for RedCloud , as well as heading the design and business development and customer engagement teams . My main expertise lies in product management for highly evolved digital financial services . Previous to RedCloud , I worked on the development of Orange Money in Africa and supported multiple industries including transport , banking and telecommunications in their transformation towards new technologies .

Tell us a bit more about your business and how it started

RedCloud is an open commerce platform that aims to grow global access to the world ’ s consumer products and improve the efficiency of supply chains by connecting and enabling brand manufacturers , distributors and merchants to trade digitally .

Among the services we provide is access to digitised payments , which eliminates the risks associated with cash handling , while offering realtime data about inventory management . We also enable the mass , lowcost distribution of consumer goods through a single app , anywhere in the world . The app , called Red101 , is designed specifically for use by small , local merchants .

We founded the company when we recognised that , around the world , there are currently over 1 billion micro-businesses that are unbanked and are therefore excluded financially through no fault of their own . Our open commerce platform is built to empower and enrich these businesses , which are projected to serve over 5 billion customers by 2025 .

How has the business grown since it started and how did you ensure growth ?

RedCloud is on a mission to help small businesses by creating infrastructure for digital marketplaces in emerging economies , such as Peru , Argentina and Nigeria . This helps address the significant technological challenges start-ups face and ultimately improves their financial inclusion and economic development . Soumaya Hamzaoui , Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at RedCloud Technology , provides further insight , telling us about the clients and market RedCloud serves , as well as her management philosophy and career journey so far .

We originally started the business in Argentina where we launched our first pilot . We worked very closely with retailers and spent time in the market to understand their pain points , their expectations from a technology point of view and service point to make sure that we built the right product and processes . From there we have expanded the market to five countries in Africa and Latin America . We have also diversified the type of retailers we were targeting , we started initially with only small kiosks , now we are working with small shops , restaurants and barber shops .

What is your company ’ s vision and goal ?

RedCloud is on a mission to digitise and empower an economy of one billion micro-businesses on a global basis , giving them the freedom to trade

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