In many parts of the world, finding someone is as simple as typing an address into a navigation app. But in Africa, where 440 million people, roughly one in three, lack a formal address, the reality is different.
Ask a typical African how you can find them, and you’ll likely get a description like, “Just find the third brown building right behind the old church. When you get there, ask for Adeola Engineer’s shop.”
Arguably, every low- to middle-income African has used or experienced this form of location description. This lack of proper addressing doesn’t just make logistics and finding people difficult, it also locks millions out of services like banking, healthcare, and deliveries.
Fortunately, a wave of African startups is solving this challenge. These companies are rolling out solutions ranging from digital addresses to AI-powered identity verification, creating the infrastructure for a more connected, identifiable continent.
OkHi
OkHi is an innovative Kenyan company that is tackling Africa’s address problem. The company’s solutions use a combination of GPS coordinates, photos, and written directions to provide accurate location information for people and places. Essentially, it aims to make it easier to locate people through its system, which assigns a person’s name and number to a precise address.
Founded in 2014 in Nairobi, OkHi provides its AI-powered digital address verification services to banks and financial institutions, helping them onboard customers, verify identities, and reduce fraud.
By enabling banks to confirm where people live, even without a street name, OkHi is enhancing Know Your Customer (KYC) processes and unlocking access to location-specific services for millions who previously couldn’t prove their address.
MPost
MPost is another innovative company seeking to solve the address infrastructure challenge within the e-commerce and postal sectors. Founded in 2016 in Kigali, MPost is building a digital addressing infrastructure to bridge the physical gap in Africa’s logistics and service systems.
It currently offers a patented solution that turns mobile phone numbers into virtual postal addresses. This innovation gives people a usable address linked to their phones, making postal and e-commerce services accessible to everyone.
Beyond its digital solution, the company partners with government postal services and e-commerce platforms to facilitate universal access and delivery for online businesses.
YouVerify
YouVerify is a RegTech startup that streamlines customer onboarding through intelligent identity verification. The company currently offers biometric identity verification and other digital identity solutions aimed at helping institutions comply with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.
Using its AI-powered tools, YouVerify automates KYC processes, assesses AML risks, and provides real-time fraud prevention for banks and fintechs. Its tools incorporate large language models (LLMS) that analyse customer data to detect risks and ensure regulatory compliance, helping businesses make smarter, safer decisions.
Founded in 2017 in Nigeria, the company currently serves numerous clients across over 145 jurisdictions in 48 countries, with a verification capability for 5 billion individuals.
Regfyl
Regfyl is an innovative RegTech company offering ready-to-integrate KYC tools tailored for fintechs across the continent. Launched in 2023, the Lagos-based startup operates a compliance platform designed to help financial institutions in Africa manage regulatory requirements, particularly in areas of AML and fraud prevention.
Its AI-based platform supports transaction monitoring, ID validation, and compliance reporting, providing the necessary systems for financial institutions to tackle fraud and navigate regulatory complexity with ease.
Even as a relatively young company, Regfyl has secured the patronage of several notable clients, including CowryWise, FD Bank, Coronation, and PiggyVest. As Africa’s fintech ecosystem grows, Regfyl is becoming a vital ally for secure and scalable customer verification.
IdentityPass
IdentityPass is another digital solution provider aiming to solve the identity verification challenge in Africa. Founded in 2021, the company helps businesses validate customer identities in real time. The platform was built in response to rising concerns around identity theft and data security.
The company operates a unique digital infrastructure designed to provide multiple layers of protection against fraudulent parties targeting businesses and fintech companies.
Recognised as the fastest-growing KYC and Verification Company in 2022 by BusinessDay Nigeria, IdentityPass is already proving itself as a critical player in Africa’s push toward safer digital transactions and regulatory compliance.
Smile ID
Africa-focused, US-based company Smile ID is deeply committed to solving identity challenges on the continent. Since its founding in 2017, the startup has focused on real-time digital KYC and facial authentication solutions tailored for Africa, including algorithms optimised for African facial features.
By enabling biometric verification and deduplication, Smile ID helps businesses onboard users with high accuracy even in places where national ID systems are limited or nonexistent.
Its core technology includes SmartSelfie (an AI-powered biometric verification solution), document verification, and fraud detection tools. The company’s solutions integrate with government ID databases across multiple African countries, enabling businesses to access fast, reliable, and compliant identity verification systems.
iiDENTIFii
South Africa’s iiDENTIFii is another leader in biometric identity tech. The company offers an advanced digital verification solution that uses a secure triangulated authentication system. It also incorporates 3D and 4D liveness detection to enhance accuracy.
Since its founding in 2018, the company has provided facial recognition and document verification tools to banks, telcos, and governments, enabling frictionless, scalable customer onboarding in seconds from any location and across multiple devices.
Designed to verify identities securely and quickly, iiDENTIFii’s technology plays a key role in helping institutions establish trust and meet compliance standards, all while adapting to Africa’s unique challenges.
The Bigger Picture
Whether it’s giving someone an address, verifying their identity, or ensuring safe digital access to services, these startups are changing what it means to be “findable” in Africa. They’re solving logistical nightmares, enabling financial inclusion, and powering digital economies from the ground up.
As Africa continues to leapfrog into a tech-enabled future, these innovators are making sure no one gets left behind, not even the person “next to the brow building opposite the old church.”
