Microsoft-Powered AI App Auni Surpasses 3,500 Business Sign-ups in Three Months

WHY THIS MATTERS:
Across Africa, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the economy—accounting for around 90% of businesses and roughly 70% of employment. Yet despite generating vast amounts of transaction data through mobile money platforms like M-Pesa, most small businesses lack the tools to turn that data into actionable insight. Financial records often sit in PDF statements, unused and unstructured, limiting visibility into sales patterns, customer behavior, and cash flow dynamics.

Auni’s rapid adoption—3,500 business sign-ups in just three months—signals a meaningful shift. By embedding directly into Safaricom’s M-Pesa Business Super App, the AI-powered mini app eliminates manual data entry and technical complexity. Leveraging OCR and lightweight AI models hosted on Microsoft Azure, it converts raw M-Pesa transaction statements into structured dashboards accessible even on low-cost smartphones in low-connectivity environments.

This is more than analytics—it’s democratized intelligence. For MSMEs that traditionally rely on intuition rather than data, real-time visibility into repeat customers, peak hours, geographic demand, and revenue trends can materially improve decision-making. Even marginal gains in retention or operational efficiency can translate into significant profitability uplift in small enterprises operating on thin margins.

Auni, an artificial intelligence-powered mini app developed by Nairobi-based startup Fastagger and integrated into Safaricom’s M-Pesa Business Super App, has surpassed 3,500 business sign-ups within its first three months of launch. 

The milestone signals growing demand among Kenya’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for accessible, affordable AI tools that transform everyday mobile money transactions into real-time business intelligence.

Powered by Microsoft Azure and optimized to run on affordable smartphones even in low-connectivity environments, Auni converts M-Pesa PDF statements into structured dashboards using optical character recognition (OCR) and lightweight AI models. 

The result is instant visibility into sales patterns, customer behavior and cash flow trends, enabling entrepreneurs to make faster, data-driven decisions without requiring IT expertise.

“The overall idea was how can we democratize access to AI and the benefits of AI?” said Mutembi Kariuki, Co-founder and CEO of Fastagger. “Reaching over 3,500 businesses in just three months shows that entrepreneurs are ready for tools that help them move from intuition to insight.”

In a market where M-Pesa processes millions of daily transactions and holds approximately 91 percent market share, vast amounts of business data are generated but often remain underutilized. By embedding directly within the M-Pesa Business Super App, Auni removes the friction of manual data entry and places advanced analytics directly into the hands of small business owners.

For Njoki Njoroge, Founder and CEO of Mandevu Beard Care in Nairobi, the app has provided clarity across her growing retail and e-commerce operations. With real-time data on repeat customers, peak hours and geographic demand, she can better manage deliveries, tailor promotions and negotiate with retailers based on actual performance metrics. “I’m able to make clear decisions because I have the data,” she said. “You’re moving from guessing to knowing.”

Peter Chege, owner of Master Stylists Hair Salon and Barbershop, has also leveraged Auni’s analytics to track customer frequency and spending trends, enabling targeted discounts and smarter staffing decisions. The increased visibility has contributed to revenue growth and a recent salon expansion. “Big corporations pay people to understand how the market is behaving,” Chege said. “With Auni, we get that for far less.”

Across Africa, MSMEs account for an estimated 90 percent of businesses and approximately 70 percent of employment. Research shows that even a five percent increase in customer retention can boost profitability by 25 percent or more. 

By equipping thousands of small businesses with AI-powered insights in its first quarter alone, Auni is demonstrating how locally built, globally powered technology can strengthen enterprise resilience, secure jobs and accelerate inclusive economic growth.

Fastagger plans to expand Auni into additional sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing and agriculture, while introducing generative AI features that will allow entrepreneurs to ask natural-language questions about their performance and receive instant insights.

FF NEWS TAKE:
The real innovation here isn’t just AI—it’s distribution. By integrating within Kenya’s dominant mobile money ecosystem, Fastagger has embedded business intelligence directly into a platform entrepreneurs already use daily. That eliminates the adoption barrier that typically limits SME tech tools.

Auni represents a broader trend: AI becoming ambient and infrastructure-level rather than standalone software. When small merchants can move from “guessing to knowing,” as users describe, the productivity impact compounds across thousands of businesses.

If Fastagger successfully layers generative AI—allowing natural-language business queries—onto this foundation, it could redefine how MSMEs interact with financial data across emerging markets. The combination of local relevance, lightweight infrastructure, and ecosystem integration positions Auni as a blueprint for inclusive AI deployment in high-growth economies.