Powered by People lands Series B to plug African makers into AI-driven commerce
What's the deal? Powered by People (PBP), a commerce technology company rooted in Africa, has raised a Series B round led by the BESTSELLER FoundationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Existing investors Golden VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Susa Ventures, and Altos Ventures also joined.
What's the endgame? PBP is building what it calls the "trust layer" for agentic commerce — technology to ensure product information can be discovered, understood, and trusted by consumers and AI systems making purchasing decisions. Its maker network spans more than 3,000 businesses globally, concentrated across Africa.
How it works: The company provides financing, training, digital tools, and market access, while its dropship platform connects independent brands with international retailers. In 2023, PBP provided $215,453 in financing to 451 Kenyan makers, according to its sustainability report.
PBP works with producers across roughly 20 African markets, from Kenya and Ghana to Nigeria and South Africa. In Kenya, its Jiinue Growth Program — run with the Mastercard FoundationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and partners — has helped brands reach buyers including the SmithsonianDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and NordstromDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? AI systems are starting to influence how consumers find and buy products. Rather than browsing dozens of sites, shoppers could ask AI agents to find products, compare prices, and complete purchases.
For a small African brand, being invisible to those systems could become another barrier to growth. PBP says its tools help artisans close a "retail readiness gap," using AI to build professional product catalogs that improve visibility and sales.
The signal: The round bets that the next commerce bottleneck is not shelf space but machine readability. As agentic shopping matures, whoever supplies the data and trust layer stands to shape which producers — including small makers half a world away — AI agents can actually see.
Read more: TechMoran
Image credit: snowpeak
