Moroccan startup Woliz has won the SUPERNOVA FinTech & Blockchain award at the fourth edition of GITEX Africa 2026. The win highlights the company’s work in building a digital ecosystem to formalize and empower small neighborhood retailers across the continent. The event, held in Marrakech from April 7-9, is one of Africa’s most prominent technology platforms.
Quick Facts
- Award: SUPERNOVA FinTech & Blockchain
- Event: GITEX Africa 2026, Marrakech
- Mission: Digitizing Africa’s 12 million micro-retailers
Tackling Africa’s Informal Retail Market
Woliz is targeting a vast and underserved segment: the “micro-stores” that are central to daily life in Africa. This network includes an estimated 12 million shops across the continent, with around 220,000 in Morocco alone. These stores serve as the primary distribution channel for everyday consumer goods for a large portion of the population.
Despite their crucial role, the vast majority of transactions in these shops are not digitally recorded. This results in a lack of organized data and leaves store owners without a formal credit history, severely limiting their access to financial services and growth capital.
Building a Unified Digital Ecosystem
Woliz aims to close this gap by creating a single, unified digital platform. The system connects local shops with brands, telecommunication companies, consumers, and financial institutions.
The company’s solution provides an all-in-one infrastructure that includes payment tools, business management software, loyalty programs, and financial services directly at the point of sale. By bringing these operations online, Woliz is helping to transition this informal sector into a more structured and active part of the digital economy.
From Cash to Credit-Worthy
According to the company’s founder and CEO, millions of daily transactions within this retail network currently leave no digital footprint. “The goal is to build an infrastructure that makes these operations visible, and transform these activities into entities that are financeable and investable,” he stated.
He emphasized that the objective is not to replace these small stores but to strengthen their ability to grow and integrate them into the modern digital economic framework. The SUPERNOVA Challenge, where Woliz triumphed, is a key competition for African startups, with past winners often attracting significant international investor attention. This year’s competition featured hundreds of startups from over 100 countries.
About Woliz
Woliz is a Moroccan technology company developing an integrated digital platform designed to improve the operations of small neighborhood stores in Africa. By connecting retailers with brands, financial institutions, and consumers, Woliz provides tools for payments, business management, and financial services to help formalize the informal retail sector.
Source: Fintech Gate
