TiQuest

Locally owned businesses play a central role and their presence is linked to higher rates of job creation and less income inequality.

Despite these benefits, in many communities, small businesses are disappearing.

A smart city is a place where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital solutions.

Locally owned businesses didn’t adapt to the rise of E-commerce and are now in a difficult position to compete with online platforms. They don’t have the tools, the money nor the knowledge to leverage their data and they are missing opportunities and money.

TiQuest developed a set of digital tools aiming at small businesses. Their main product is an IoT hardware that connects to the POS system of the merchants and collects all the transactions.

Data collected are processed and sent back to the merchant with advice to help him perform better.

Additionally, merchant data is enriched with other open data sources like the weather, city events and consumer behaviour on which we apply machine learning algorithms that forecast potential future sales.

Thanks to this solution, small businesses are reducing missed opportunities (less food waste for restaurants) stock management is more accurate, cash flow is optimised and they generate more revenue. Merchants can compete with digital platforms and more locally owned businesses will reopen in the city centre.