In South Africa, where WhatsApp dominates as the most widely used social media platform, the messaging app is evolving beyond just helping people communicate and get services. Tregter, a Cape Town-based startup established in 2019, uses WhatsApp chatbots to gather data for research, even in underserved rural communities.
“A big use case for chatbots is data collection,” says Ferdinand Steenkamp, Tregter’s co-founder. “We have assisted multiple vendors with building chatbots, whether that could be to get information out to their clients, or whether they want to collect data more easily.”
Tregter works with the Do More Foundation, an organisation that aims to improve the lives of children in South Africa’s underserved communities.
“This is a pro bono project, using WhatsApp chatbot to collect data on early childhood development across rural South Africa. This allows the foundation to scale their data collection efforts and target rural communities,” Steenkamp explains.
WhatsApp chatbot for the Do More Foundation is accompanied with cloud-based and analytics solutions.
Steenkamp notes that the deployment of a WhatsApp chatbot is a hybrid approach combining the accessibility of a mobile messaging platform (WhatsApp) with a cloud-based platform, which, amongst other things, consists of a database where they can collect and analyse large volumes of data securely.
“We also created a platform for analysts where they can inspect and visualise their data,” Steenkamp says.
This initiative demonstrates how chatbots can facilitate essential research in areas where access is often limited.
Tregter operates in a competitive space where several companies are also using data-driven strategies and chatbot technologies. South Africa has over 40 chatbot startups, with about three new companies opening each year in the last decade, Tracxna data shows. However, WhatsApp chatbots are dominant due to WhatsApp’s widespread use—about 40% of South Africans use the platform.
Most of these WhatsApp chatbots focus on customer service, sales, scheduling, and information dissemination. Tregter is exploring a growing area of using chatbots for research. By focusing on underserved rural communities and the use of WhatsApp chatbots.Tregter is betting on accessibility of WhatsApp which makes it an ideal platform for reaching diverse populations, including those in rural areas.
“What a lot of companies were doing before was manually collecting data. So they would have a single person responsible for capturing data. This process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and inconsistencies,” says Steenkamp.
By automating data collection through chatbots, Tregter significantly improves data quality and reduces the time required to gather insights.
“We found an instant improvement in data quality and also a massive reduction in the time it takes to get from data received to insights because we have built validations into the data capturing, and it all happens automatically. Once it is captured, it is live, and anyone has access to that data,” Steenkamp says.
Beyond research, Tregter sees WhatsApp as the future of customer interaction.
“WhatsApp is the app that everybody has,” Steenkamp states.
He argues that companies investing millions in bespoke mobile apps for data collection are often missing the mark, as users are reluctant to download numerous apps and some affordable phones in South Africa often do not have space for many apps.
As a startup, security and privacy are top priorities. Steenkamp highlights the significance of cloud migration and ensuring users have the necessary access for their tasks while maintaining data protection.
“A great first start would be to move to the cloud where, I would not say it is secure by default, but you get a lot more security features,” he explains.
Despite these challenges, Tregter remains bootstrapped, focusing on proving product-market fit before seeking external funding.
“We do not believe in this idea of taking money and then hoping to find something that works,” Steenkamp says, highlighting a practical approach to startup growth. The company is actively working on producing its solutions, aiming to launch a SaaS platform to reach a wider audience.
As AI-powered chatbots evolve, Tregter is keenly aware of the need to adapt to the African context.
“We have to look at the customer in South Africa and throughout Africa, and just find out if we can implement those technologies in a way that works for them,” Steenkamp cautions.
While AI, voice assistants and augmented reality hold promise, Tregter’s focus remains on leveraging existing platforms like WhatsApp to bridge digital literacy gaps and deliver tangible value.
“Most of the population in South Africa understands how WhatsApp works, and so there is immediately a gap that gets bridged,” Steenkamp says.
