Belva Digital

What Belva Digital does

Belva Digital is a Nairobi-headquartered marketing technology agency operating across East and Southern Africa, with offices in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania. Founded in June 2013 as Belva Group by Fred Kithinzi and led by CEO Serah Mwikali Katusya, the firm began as a digital training provider for SMEs before evolving into a full-service digital agency offering strategy and consulting, content and creative production, performance marketing, SEO, website and eCommerce development, data analytics, omnichannel experience, and influencer management. The company rebranded to Belva Digital in 2023 to align with a martech positioning.

Its core technology platforms include AXIS, a unified customer engagement dashboard aggregating WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and email; GrowthLab, a wholly-owned digital transformation arm that builds internal tools such as the LinkedIn Automator; a Prompt Library for marketers; and a freelance marketplace (Startup.belvadigital.com). AI capabilities surface through chatbots (including the award-winning Kenchic AI Bot), AI-driven social media monitoring, and generative AI applications. The company has served enterprise clients across banking, insurance, utilities, fintech, FMCG, agriculture, and food service — including Kenya Power, Co-operative Bank, Jubilee Insurance, Cellulant, KWAL, and Kenchic.

Belva earns revenue through three streams: project-based and retainer professional services (the dominant agency model), subscription-style recurring revenue from proprietary technology products (AXIS, GrowthLab), and marketplace commissions from its freelance talent platform. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The firm is privately held with no disclosed external venture or private equity funding, appears founder-controlled, and is advised by a board chaired by Ali Hussein with members from banking, tech, and finance backgrounds.

Name

Belva Digital

Legal name

Belva Digital

Website

https://belvadigital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Belva Digital is a Nairobi-based marketing technology agency serving enterprise clients across Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania with digital strategy, performance marketing, SEO, and proprietary platforms including the AXIS customer engagement tool and GrowthLab digital transformation services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAHAEAA

Digital Strategy & Transformation

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Technology & Digital Consulting

SECONDARYBPAHACAH

Digital & Technology Transformation Consulting

Business & Public Services/Professional Services (Legal, Accounting, Consulting)/Management Consulting

SECONDARYBPAEAAAD

Business Process & Digital Transformation Consulting

Business & Public Services/IT & Digital Services (Managed Services, Systems Integration)/IT Consulting & Systems Integration

Keywords

• Digital marketing services
• Performance marketing
• Marketing technology platform
• Website development services
• Search engine optimization

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Digital Marketing Services: Full-service digital agency providing strategy, creative production, performance marketing, website development, SEO, and analytics services to enterprise clients across Africa. Revenue is generated through project-based fees, retainers, and consulting engagements.
2. Technology Products: Revenue from proprietary technology platforms including AXIS (unified customer engagement) and digital transformation solutions through GrowthLab.
3. Freelance Marketplace: Startup unit connecting SMBs/startups with freelance talent to provide digital services such as graphic design, SEO, and digital ads.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Belva Digital is a pan-African marketing technology agency that delivers end-to-end digital marketing services, including strategy and consulting, content and creative production, performance marketing, SEO, website and eCommerce development, data analytics, omnichannel experience, digital transformation, and influencer discovery and management, primarily to enterprise clients across Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Tanzania. The agency complements these services with proprietary martech platforms, most notably AXIS (a unified AI customer engagement platform aggregating WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and email), GrowthLab (digital transformation arm with tools such as the LinkedIn Automator), the Prompt Library for marketers, and the Startup.BelvaDigital freelance marketplace for SMBs.

Product overview

Belva Digital is a marketing technology agency offering a platform-plus-services model. The core products include AXIS (unified customer engagement platform aggregating WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, email), GrowthLab (digital transformation arm building tools like LinkedIn Automator), Prompt Library (battle-tested marketing prompts), and Startup.BelvaDigital (freelance talent marketplace). Services span strategy/consulting, content/creative production, performance marketing (Google/Facebook/Twitter/DSP), SEO, website development, data analytics, omnichannel experience, influencer management, and digital transformation. The company rebranded in 2023 to align with its martech vision, having developed award-winning AI solutions including the Kenchic AI Bot.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategy and Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving approximately 7 million customers through Kenya Power prepaid metering brand strategy
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability7 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Axis (myaxis.ai)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAXIS is Belva Digital's proprietary unified customer engagement platform that aggregates WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, and email under one dashboard. It helps teams communicate, collaborate, create, and learn without switching tools.
• GrowthLab (growthlab.digital)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrowthLab is a digital transformation company owned by Belva that focuses on unlocking the power of people and technology to drive rapid growth and organizational efficiency. It also builds internal tech solutions such as the LinkedIn Automator.
• Startup.belvadigital.comminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupporting gig economy by connecting SMBs/startups with freelance talent to provide digital services such as graphic design, SEO, and digital ads.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Hootsuite: Global social media management and engagement platform. Comparable to Belva's AXIS as a unified social/omnichannel engagement solution, though Hootsuite is a pure SaaS play while Belva wraps its platform around agency services — making them more adjacent than directly competitive.

Broad incumbents

• HubSpot: Global marketing, sales, and customer engagement software platform with broad marketing technology capabilities. Comparable to Belva's AXIS platform as a customer engagement / CRM-adjacent solution, but as a globally established incumbent rather than an Africa-focused upstart.
• GroupM Africa: WPP's media investment arm operating across Africa, providing media planning, buying, and performance marketing services. Directly competes with Belva's performance marketing practice but at far greater scale and with proprietary media tooling.
• Publicis Africa: African operations of Publicis Groupe (Leo Burnett, Saatchi & Saatchi, etc.) offering full-service advertising and digital marketing. Comparable service portfolio to Belva, but competes from a global network position with substantially deeper resources.
• Ogilvy Africa: African operations of global advertising network WPP/Ogilvy, offering brand strategy, advertising, and digital transformation services across East and Southern Africa. Comparable as a competing enterprise marketing services provider, but with global network resources and significantly larger scale than Belva.
• Dentsu Africa: African arm of global advertising holding company Dentsu, providing integrated marketing, media, and digital services. Directly comparable in offering (digital marketing, performance media, creative) but as a broad incumbent rather than an Africa-native specialist.

Direct peers

• Terragon Group: Nigeria-based African marketing technology and data platform serving enterprises with mobile marketing, audience targeting, and omnichannel engagement. Directly comparable as an Africa-native martech player combining proprietary technology with marketing services, mirroring Belva's AXIS-plus-services model.
• Africa Practice: Pan-African communications, public affairs, and marketing advisory firm with offices across the continent. Directly comparable as an Africa-focused marketing and brand strategy peer serving enterprise and public-sector clients, similar in geographic breadth to Belva's four-country footprint.
• Scanad: Long-established East African full-service advertising and digital marketing agency headquartered in Kenya. Closely comparable to Belva in terms of service offering (brand strategy, performance marketing, digital transformation) and target enterprise client base in Kenya and the wider region.

Emerging players

• Brave Bison: Independent digital marketing and media agency with emerging-market exposure and a martech-oriented service offering. Comparable to Belva as a digital-first, technology-enabled agency serving enterprise clients, though operating at a larger scale and primarily outside Africa.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/belvadigital
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCqlREL5ZpGwxtc0Q7kknr3g
• Facebookfacebook.com/belvadigital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/belva-digital
• Instagraminstagram.com/belva_digital_innit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Belva Digital