Kenyan entrepreneur Ken Gitonga.
By Editorial Team
Across Kenya, small businesses keep daily life moving. Yet many still rely on instinct to operate. Records sit in notebooks, stock is tracked mentally, and sales are remembered instead of recorded. As a result, decisions are often made without a clear picture of what is happening.
For Kenyan entrepreneur Ken Gitonga, this was more than an observation. It was a personal experience that sparked an idea.
“The idea for StockApp started from a very personal experience. My uncle, who runs a hardware store, asked me for a way to manage his business better,” Gitonga says.
What he found went beyond simple disorganisation. It exposed a deeper problem of limited visibility.
“Every time he stepped away and came back, things were unclear. Stock records did not add up, sales were difficult to track, and it was hard to know what was really happening,” he explains.
That moment pointed to a much larger challenge facing small businesses across Africa. Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) employ nearly 85 per cent of the non-farm workforce. However, many still rely on manual processes that limit growth and make scaling difficult.
In its early stages, StockApp was shaped through direct engagement with business owners. According to Gitonga, most entrepreneurs face three key challenges.
The first is a lack of structured data. Many businesses struggle to accurately track inventory, sales, purchases, profits, and expenses.
The second is limited visibility. Business owners often make decisions without clear insight into performance. They may not know which products are doing well or where losses occur.
The third challenge is fragmentation. Even when businesses adopt digital tools, they often use multiple apps that do not integrate. Instead of solving problems, this creates more confusion.
These realities shaped the platform’s direction. The goal was to create a single system where everything comes together, while remaining simple and easy to use.
“We designed StockApp with the understanding that many business owners are not technology experts. They just want tools that help them run their businesses better,” Gitonga says.
The platform integrates stock tracking, sales, expenses, supplier management, staff monitoring, and even online selling into one environment.
“Everything is designed to mirror how businesses already operate. The goal is to make it feel simple and natural,” he adds.
Today, StockApp is used in more than 70 countries, highlighting how widespread these challenges are.
“The problems we are solving are universal. Whether you are a small retailer in Nairobi, Lagos, or Manila, the challenges are very similar,” Gitonga says.
Much of this growth has happened organically.
“Entrepreneurs share tools that work, and that has been a big part of how we have expanded,” he explains.
The startup’s progress has also attracted recognition within Kenya’s innovation ecosystem. StockApp is part of Safaricom Spark Accelerator Cohort II, a programme that supports high-potential startups with mentorship, funding, and market access.
At the core of the platform is its ability to turn business data into actionable insights. Gitonga says the built-in AI assistant analyses sales patterns, inventory movement, purchasing behaviour, and cash flow.
“It helps business owners understand how their business is performing,” he notes.
The company is now working on the next phase of development.
“We are moving towards AI that not only gives insights, but also takes action. This includes suggesting reorders, generating reports, and supporting day-to-day operations,” he says.
For many businesses, the impact is immediate and visible.
Gitonga points to one client, Joy Pinky Stores in Diani, which operates two retail outlets. After adopting StockApp, the owner was able to manage both stores and access reports directly from her phone.
“For the first time, she could see her sales, stock levels, and overall performance in real time,” he says.
Similar success stories are emerging beyond Kenya. In Zambia, one client is opening their 13th branch.
“They have told us that being able to manage everything from one platform has made that growth possible,” Gitonga adds.
Such outcomes go beyond individual businesses. Each expansion creates jobs, supports families, and strengthens local economies.
However, expanding across multiple countries comes with challenges. Differences in regulations, business culture, currencies, and infrastructure can slow growth.
To address this, the company is testing a more localised approach.
“We are piloting an agency model, similar to franchising. We partner with local operators who handle customer-facing activities like sales and support, while we focus on the technology,” Gitonga explains.
The model is currently being tested in Tanzania, with plans to expand into more markets if successful.
As more businesses embrace digital tools, trust is becoming increasingly important. Gitonga says data security remains a top priority.
“We have implemented secure infrastructure, encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring,” he says.
For StockApp, the mission remains clear: to help small businesses move from guesswork to clarity, and from survival to sustainable growth.
