Inside Hipora’s Retail Audit Revolution: Real-Time Data, Logistics Support, and Regional Growth
In this exclusive interview with Marcopolis, John Wanjohi, CEO of Hipora Business Solutions, outlines the company’s transformation and regional expansion since 2022. Operating as a leading inventory management company in East Africa, Hipora has successfully penetrated new markets including Zambia and Rwanda, with operations already established in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.
Despite political fluctuations in Kenya, the company has experienced stable growth in Uganda and Tanzania, and anticipates 20% year-on-year growth as it continues to address critical gaps in inventory visibility, loss prevention, and retail audits. Hipora’s flagship technology, Hiplapia, is a customized retail audit and inventory management system that captures real-time data, detects policy non-compliance, and enhances inventory control for retail and FMCG sectors.
To combat inventory loss in transit—a major issue in FMCG distribution—Hipora deploys stock distribution officers who monitor and report every movement of goods, ensuring full supply chain transparency. This human-resource-based inventory solution sets Hipora apart from competitors and supports its logistics and warehousing services, which include dispatch verification, inventory checks, and loss accountability.
The company’s latest ventures include the rollout of full-service warehousing in Kenya, offering clients end-to-end responsibility for inventory. Hipora also supports SMEs through SOP audits and business process restructuring, providing customized stocktaking services on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. These efforts have helped build a loyal client base across retail, manufacturing, and distribution sectors.
Investing heavily in workforce development, Hipora has launched the HiPora Academy, a training institution focused on soft skills, ethical decision-making, and inventory management. With over 900 employees across four countries, the company is also committed to youth empowerment, onboarding 20 to 30 young professionals every quarter, especially from disadvantaged communities.
Looking ahead, Wanjohi envisions expansion into Ethiopia, Mozambique, and potentially Malawi and Botswana, positioning Hipora as a regional leader in retail audits, inventory control, and warehousing solutions in Africa. The company aims to partner with compliance bodies and attract investors to scale its impact and technological capabilities.
Briefly, what is the status of HiPora since 2022?
Over the past three years, there has been a transformation in the business. We have penetrated new markets, including Zambia and Rwanda. These two markets were successfully entered in the last three years. We have also experienced growth in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. In Kenya, there has been marginal growth, which has occasionally been affected by the political environment. However, in Uganda and Tanzania, growth has been stable, with approximately 20% growth over the past one to two years.
In Kenya, opportunities remain, particularly in the distribution and manufacturing sectors. The retail sector is somewhat stagnant due to limited expansion among retailers, aside from long-established businesses.
Additionally, we have lost a few clients, including one from the security sector. We operate both a security company and HiPora, which is an inventory management company. These changes reflect key developments over the past two to three years.
Looking ahead, we foresee potential growth. If market conditions stabilise, we project up to 20% growth in the next year. Although ambitious, it is attainable. We offer a product that remains underutilised in the market. Many businesses experience inventory losses and lack visibility into their stockholding. To address this, we have introduced products that support inventory visibility, including regular stocktakes on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.
Has there been any improvement in technology for retail audits and loss prevention?
Yes. Technology has become an integral part of operations, and the organisation has invested heavily in system improvement and customisation. We have focused on data collection metrics, mainly from day-to-day operations, and we use well-designed systems. One of our systems is called Hiplapia, a product customised to meet client portfolios, particularly in retail, warehousing, and FMCG sectors, which are part of our inventory management services.
The system drives client reports by collecting data, integrating it, and centralising it for analytics. We then share the results with clients. It captures real-time information, highlights irregularities in inventory management, and detects policy non-compliance. It has been very helpful.
Our backup servers are located at our head office, and we receive reports daily. We plan to improve the system further by customising dashboards so clients can access feedback directly and promptly. Once this is fully implemented, clients will be able to rate our services using performance scores.
This system has been launched in Kenya, and we plan to expand it to other regions. We have also developed an internal system to manage compliance, staff turnover, attendance, leave requests, and scheduling. These tools help ensure we remain technology compliant.
As you expand into Zambia and Rwanda, have you identified any new opportunities in other markets?
We had planned to expand into Ethiopia with one of our clients. The same client also requested that we enter Mozambique. However, we have not been able to proceed due to current business conditions. In markets like Mozambique, the required investment is significant, and the language barrier presents an additional challenge.
For Ethiopia, the market remains open, and we are optimistic that we will enter that market in the near future.
In the Zambia market, we have acquired two clients. One of these clients also operates with us in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. We have already onboarded 15 staff members and anticipate onboarding an additional 30. Initially, the plan was to begin with 45 staff on the ground.
This indicates a significant opportunity in Zambia, as the market is broad. Zambia has a strong presence of retailers, in addition to manufacturers and distributors. We expect our penetration in Zambia to open pathways to other markets such as Malawi and Botswana.
Zambia is showing strong growth potential and may surpass the Uganda and Tanzania markets in terms of staff numbers by the end of the year. We may reach close to 100 staff members, supporting three to four clients currently in the pipeline.
What specifically makes you confident in the projected growth?
We have approximately 800 employees across both companies in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zambia, with 100 staff in Zambia. In total, our workforce is about 900, including the diaspora. This reflects significant employment growth.
We are passionate about training. We train young people between the ages of 24 and 30 in soft skills, effective communication, customer engagement, ethical decision-making, and integrity. Integrity is especially important because we deal with inventory management, and our staff must maintain high ethical standards.
Beyond workforce expansion, we anticipate increasing our revenue by over 10% by the end of this year. By the end of next year, we project growth of beyond 20% in revenue.
We have changed our client engagement strategy. After the exit of France, the new team now visits clients on a weekly basis. Previously, we had not tapped into the upcountry market, but we are now active in those regions.
Many businesses in those areas are not aware of loss control or inventory management companies that can help them reduce inventory loss. We have also introduced logistics solutions for our clients. Some clients need to move inventory from Nairobi to upcountry towns. We help ensure that inventory reaches its intended destination.
Previously, clients were losing inventory in transit. We now offer a human-resource-based solution that oversees inventory from dispatch to delivery. This is a unique value addition that other companies do not offer. Many clients are adopting this solution, which is why we are confident that revenue will grow significantly.
What is your Competitive Advantage?
Our competitive advantage is based on addressing a critical gap many of our clients face: the transfer of stock from warehouses to outlets. A significant portion of the stock is lost in transit. In loss control, most of the losses result from theft and staff collusion, which are human-resource-based losses.
We help businesses ensure that stock reaches its intended destination. For example, distributors handling fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) to rural clients often experience stock losses en route. To solve this, we provide a stock distribution officer who accompanies the goods to their destination.
The stock distribution officer supervises the driver, monitors the stock, and provides timely reports. We have a communication group where the officer posts every movement in real-time. If the driver deviates from the route, it is reported immediately, and action is taken promptly.
What project are you currently working on?
We are currently diversifying. We cannot remain in the same position because competitors and potential competitors are doing what we have been doing. Now, we have expanded our services, particularly in warehousing. We are currently offering full warehousing services to four or five clients.
Full warehousing means taking full responsibility for a client’s stock. We provide dispatch checkers, inventory controllers, and loaders, and we assume total responsibility for the inventory. In case of losses, we agree with the client that we are accountable. This approach has proven highly effective in controlling losses.
We have also identified that many SMEs lack standard operating procedures (SOPs) and proper business processes. Before onboarding such clients, we conduct a dipstick audit of their existing processes. If these are insufficient, we provide a complete overhaul and offer structured solutions. This has been well received and is now an additional service we provide.
Additionally, we offer stock takes. Some SMEs do not want to onboard a full-time stock controller but still require regular stock takes. We provide this service on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, depending on client needs. Some of these contracts are one-off, while others are monthly or yearly. This is why I am confident that by tapping into all these opportunities, we can significantly increase our revenue.
What is your vision for the next 3 years?
Over time, we have employed many young people, and in the future, I would like to allow new blood to come in and transform the business, either by taking it from where I have reached or through an investor. An investor would bring in new energy and ideas, especially in technology, which would help us expand beyond the East African market.
I am also focused on increasing our training capacity. We have started a training institution called HiPora Academy, and our goal is to train retailers, our clients’ staff, and young people in soft skills, ethical decision-making, effective communication, and inventory management. This is something I am very passionate about.
We aim to give back to the community by recruiting from local and disadvantaged areas. Every 3 months, we typically onboard 20 to 30 young people, which contributes to employment and economic growth. Even in the diaspora, we are creating opportunities for youth to find work, and that impact is very important to me.
HiPora Academy is now registered and will provide specialised training. We plan to partner with local compliance and regulatory bodies to ensure we are competitive with other institutions. Our training offerings will be unique, focused on retail management, loss control, and industry-relevant soft skills taught by professionals with deep experience in inventory management.