Digital innovators in the research industry? The title fits snuggly on the shoulders of Afritorch Digital. Founded by Thabo Mphate and Michel Katuta, the company is not a research agency, but rather a technology enabler for research agencies. Afritorch Digital has created online communities in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, made up of people who have opted in to participate in market research. Participants are incentivised in various ways, including airtime, retail vouchers and cash.
Researchers approach Afritorch Digital when they are looking to access those consumers, who essentially provide insight. “The technology we provide allows researchers to tap into consumers to gather insights and make better-informed business decisions,” Thabo Mphate explains.
If anything, the inception of Afritorch Digital is indicative of the 4th revolution. Having streamlined the process of market research, Afritorch Digital has begun to eliminate the restrictions of distance, time and resources when it comes to research. Instead of traditional modes of research like focus groups, where a company might need to invite participants, hire catering, provide transport and STILL not access as wide an audience as they might digitally, Afritorch gives companies access to a wider audience and eradicates most costs involved.
Although fairly young, the company has experienced overwhelming success, and part of that is due to the founding duo playing to their strengths. “In business, you’re not an island, you can’t do it alone,” Mphate says. Knowing his strengths and weaknesses is an integral part of staying efficient and on top of the game. Where Mphate lacks, Katuta fills in. “I am an extrovert, my business partner is not. But he’s extremely organised, and so our partnership complements one another.”
The same approach guides Mpathe’s approach to hiring. Employees, he suggests, are valuable agents in a business because they fill in the gaps, and those gaps will always exist.
“I don’t hire smart people to tell them what to do. I hire smart people so that they can tell me what to do,” he says.
Looking back on the origins of Afritorch, Mphate recalls the little mistakes that could cost any company an arm and a leg. “When business started rolling in, we neglected the finer details,” Thabo says. Finances and tax-related issues, admittedly, are the less glamorous aspects of business. “It’s great to get it right from the beginning because once you’re 2 years in, it’s already too late”. Because of this, Mphate emphasizes the need for aspiring entrepreneurs to be as clued-up as possible before taking the leap into their businesses.
“I did a lot of research and went to business school, and that’s important. But school can only take you so far because the practical is so different from theory,” he explains. After matric, Thabo went strait to work and only three years ago, in 2015, decided to further his studies at Rosebank College. Still, he firmly believes that chasing knowledge and doing research before undertaking that long journey of being an entrepreneur is a way of empowering yourself.
Company: Afritorch Digital
Age: 34
Turnover: 6m
Starting up funding: self fundedKey players: Michel Katuta & Thabo Mphate