Today in the Connected Economy: OmniBiz Helps Nestle, Coke Boost and Track Sales

Today in the connected economy, Nigeria’s OmniBiz inks deals with brands like Nestle, Kellogs and Coke to help them track and improve their sales in the African country.

Also, payments network Strike announces an integration with Shopify, allowing global merchants to accept bitcoin payments, and the Central Bank of Kenya teams with the country’s mobile providers to allow mobile payments across networks.

Nigeria’s Omnibiz Signs Deals With Coke, Nestle

Some of the biggest consumer goods companies in Nigeria have made an agreement with eCommerce platform Omnibiz designed to boost sales and lower costs following an eCommerce boom triggered by the COVID-19 lockdowns and smartphone use.

The Lagos-based FinTech has signed more than 12 companies doing business in Nigeria — including Coca-Cola, Kellog, Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble — who will use Omnibiz’s platform, which keeps track of sales from distributors to retailers.

Omnibiz said the deal gives it the chance to digitize its new clients’ local annual revenue, which comes to $1.2 billion and accounts for about 3% of the country’s total fresh produce and packaged foods market.

Shopify, Strike to Allow Bitcoin Payments

Payments network Strike will integrate with Canadian eCommerce platform Shopify, allowing global merchants to accept bitcoin payments.

The integration aims to make things simpler for merchants by letting them accept the digital currency in the form of U.S. dollars, saving on processing fees through cash-final settlements.

Lightning Network will convert bitcoin payments from the Strike network into U.S. dollars, a move that should limit digital currency price volatility. Strike Founder and CEO Jack Mallers added that the integration will also include offline merchants, including Walmart, McDonald’s and many other U.S. companies.

Kenyan Mobile Service Providers Join Payments Network

Cell phone operators in Kenya are joining an initiative from the country’s central bank to integrate Kenyan payment systems by allowing mobile payments across networks.

The initial stage of the project will let customers of Telkom Kenya Ltd. and Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd. pay for products and services through Safaricom Plc’s M-Pesa, one of Kenya’s largest mobile-money platforms.

The Central Bank of Kenya said it wants to see seamless payments across networks so customers can send and receive money from any bank or FinTech. Between 2010 and 2021, the number of mobile money transactions increased from 23% of gross domestic product to 60%, the bank said. Last year, there were upwards of 2.2 billion transactions with a value of more than 6.9 trillion shillings ($60 billion).

Acorn Finance, LMN Team up to Fund Home Improvements

Landscape Management Network (LMN), which provides business management software for contractors, and home improvement lender Acorn Finance have formed a partnership to offer funding to contractors and their customers.

LMN Lend Home Improvement Financing lets contractors who use LMN’s software give their customers access to Acorn Finance’s marketplace for funding options of as much as $100,000.

“Consumers continue to invest in their properties,” said LMN CEO Mark Bradley in the announcement. “As a contractor, you want to be able to provide the best experience possible for your customers. Knowing you can now easily walk them through financing options as a part of the estimate brings tremendous value to customers and positions landscape operation owners as true partners in the renovations.”