Lagos-based startup, Lengo, founded in 2022, is using artificial intelligence to solve one of Africa’s biggest retail challenges: visibility into its vast informal market.
According to Lengo, it is building a data-driven platform to help global consumer goods giants like Coca-Cola and Unilever understand where and how their products move in fragmented markets.
CEO and founder Max Smith says the idea started in Senegal, where a multinational client asked him to update its retailer database.
“There’s little visibility on what’s being sold, in which quantities, and to whom,” says Max Smith. “We found twice as many as they had. That’s when we knew there was a big gap.”
What You Should Know
That discovery led to Lengo’s mission of mapping informal shops at scale, combining AI-driven mapping with on-the-ground verification to give brands accurate, real-time insight into retail activity.
At first, the company relied on field agents to manually interview shopkeepers and count outlets; a slow and costly method that produced outdated results.
Lengo soon turned to technology, using Google Street View and proprietary AI models to detect storefronts, map locations, and classify shop types at scale.
The company is backed by investors such as Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures, Launch Africa, and Acasia Ventures. It is also part of the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First programme in Africa.
Since expanding to Nigeria this year, Lengo estimates that close to one million informal shops drive the bulk of consumer goods sales nationwide. Already, the startup has mapped more than 200,000 shops in Nigeria and is scaling quickly in cities such as Ibadan and Kano.
How the Platform Works
Lengo’s process combines digital tools and grassroots tactics. The startup identifies potential shop locations through Street View imagery, then connects with shop owners via Instagram and Facebook ads.
Onboarding is conducted through WhatsApp, where shopkeepers verify themselves by sending geotagged pictures of their storefronts.
To accelerate adoption, Lengo says it also incentivises retailers with airtime bundles, discounts, and product promotions. Peer referrals have proven especially effective, with 30% of new shopkeepers joining via recommendations from existing users.
The company integrates its own mapping with datasets provided by FMCG partners, creating a richer, more comprehensive picture of the market.
Understanding the AI Copilot
Beyond mapping, Lengo has launched an AI-powered “co-pilot for retail in emerging markets.” Built with OpenAI technology and trained on its proprietary datasets, the tool allows FMCG managers to query market data in natural language.
Managers can instantly see where competitors are gaining ground or where distribution gaps exist, receiving clear strategic suggestions.
“At the end of the day, it’s like having a trusted AI assistant in your pocket,” Smith says.
The company also plans to expand into verticals such as pharmacies, hardware, and cosmetics, with a long-term goal of creating consumer-facing tools that allow shoppers to search for nearby stores.
What This Means
For global FMCG companies, the scale of Africa’s informal retail sector remains daunting. Nigeria alone has an estimated 40 million informal businesses, but most brands only reach a fraction of them.
“You might think your brand is everywhere,” says Smith, “But when the data comes in, you realise you’re covering maybe just 20% of stores in a zone.”
To bridge this trust gap, Lengo designed its platform around tools retailers already use, most notably WhatsApp. This decision eliminated the friction of standalone apps that demand storage space and heavy onboarding.
Retailers also submit time-stamped, geotagged photos of storefronts and stock to verify data accuracy. Incentives and periodic check-ins from Lengo’s team further ensure engagement and compliance.
For FMCG clients, the benefits are twofold: real-time shop-by-shop intelligence on product presence, pricing, and competition; and new marketing channels that allow companies to push promotions directly to retailers.
The Competition
Lengo is not alone in targeting Africa’s fragmented retail sector. Platforms like OmniRetail’s Omnibiz focus on digitising supply chains by enabling ordering, delivery, and credit services for informal retailers.
But Smith argues Lengo’s strength lies in its independence: unlike delivery-focused platforms, it provides an unbiased, market-wide view of stock, pricing, and market share.
Competition also comes from within FMCG companies themselves, which often maintain their own databases of retailers.
Yet industry experts say Lengo’s AI-driven mapping, real-time validation, and retailer engagement offer a depth and accuracy difficult for internal teams to replicate.
Talking Points
It is striking how Lengo is addressing one of Africa’s most persistent blind spots: the lack of reliable data on informal retail. By combining AI mapping with shopkeeper referrals and simple onboarding through WhatsApp, the startup is bridging a gap that has long undermined FMCG companies’ ability to plan effectively.
This approach positions Lengo as more than just a data provider, it is creating visibility into a fragmented ecosystem that global players cannot afford to ignore.
At Techparley, we see this as a significant step toward digitising Africa’s consumer economy. The use of AI to detect storefronts via Google Street View, layered with real-world verification and retailer referrals, shows how technology can adapt to the realities of emerging markets rather than forcing users into complex systems.
As Lengo grows, partnerships will be critical. Collaboration with FMCGs, telcos, and even governments could accelerate data coverage, while its new AI co-pilot offers managers the ability to act on insights instantly, making it not just a mapping tool but a strategic advisor.
