SafiriSalama, a Kenyan startup has launched an end-of-life services platform, offering digital death notices, memorials, and a directory of funeral service providers. SafiriSalama has indicated that it aims to ensure these people are connected to the best service providers and can manage the death of a loved one efficiently and smoothly.
The startup, which started in 2021 has so far raised US$100,000 from a US angel investor for product development and is now raising a pre-seed funding round. On its site, the startup has indicated that they have so far had 68,400 visitors and 478 tributes written.
The startup has three products namely, that is, Death Notices which enables the creation of affordable digital death announcements that can be shared across multiple social media platforms and controlled by users. Memorials provide a subscription to a one-stop-shop including a user-friendly noticeboard for managing a loved one’s funeral process. While the Redbook is a B2B and B2C product and services online directory that connects verified service providers in the funeral and grief industry with families. It features over 50 categories of direct, indirect, and accessory providers.
John Nyongesa, SafiriSalama’s founder and CEO, had this to say, “Africans tend to avoid discussions about death or end-of-life planning. This lack of knowledge creates an opportunity for exploitation, as people are uninformed and emotionally vulnerable when a loved one passes away. No other business deals with such a vulnerable group.”