Kenyan social commerce startup Chpter has announced a major continental expansion, entering 11 new African markets through a strategic collaboration with payments giant Flutterwave. This move significantly broadens Chpter’s reach beyond its initial base in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. The new markets include Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Zambia.
Scaling Infrastructure Through Fintech Collaboration
The partnership with Flutterwave allows merchants using Chpter to accept payments via mobile money, bank transfers, and card transactions. Customers in the newly added countries will be able to pay in local currencies or U.S. dollars, with Flutterwave managing the backend settlement process. This seamless payment integration is expected to bolster cross-border trade and improve ease of doing business for SMEs across the region.
A Shift Toward AI-First Social Commerce
Chpter is concurrently undergoing a shift toward AI-driven services, integrating artificial intelligence into its customer service and sales functions. The startup has already restructured its internal teams to support an AI-first product approach. Early metrics suggest that around 45% of customer interactions are currently handled by AI, a figure projected to exceed 80% as the technology matures and user trust grows.
Introducing Pluto for Chat-Based Commerce
In addition to expanding geographically, Chpter has launched Pluto, a new API suite designed to help developers and businesses create seamless customer experiences on WhatsApp. This suite enables merchants to manage orders, automate messages, process payments, and run marketing campaigns directly within chat apps. As a Meta Business Partner, Chpter also benefits from privileged access to key features like in-chat checkout and unified dashboards across WhatsApp and Instagram.
Strong Growth Driven by Product-Market Fit
Chpter’s leadership cites strong demand and rapid growth as validation of their approach to SaaS in Africa. Co-founder and President Tesh Mbaabu shared that the company acquired 1,500 merchants in just four months in 2025, compared to 1,000 over the previous 14 months. This acceleration in user adoption is attributed to improved pricing, a better product-market fit, and increasing demand for digitized commerce tools tailored to African contexts.
Localized Commerce Meets Global Technology
CEO Mark Kiarie emphasized that WhatsApp and Instagram now account for 60% of inbound traffic among businesses using the Chpter platform. Despite limited outreach efforts, demand from countries like Senegal and Tanzania has already emerged, highlighting latent need for commerce tools that integrate with widely used messaging platforms. With Flutterwave now enabling payments in these markets, businesses can go live quickly and begin transacting directly from their social media channels.
Funding and Monetization Strategy
Chpter raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding in late 2024, led by Pani, the investment firm co-founded by ex-Cellulant CEO Ken Njoroge. Other notable investors include Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, and various angel investors, with the startup also benefiting from acceleration support via Norrsken and Safaricom. The company’s business model includes a monthly subscription ranging from $50 to $550, complemented by additional revenue from paid messaging and AI-based interactions on Meta platforms.
Chpter’s expansion into 11 new African countries represents a significant milestone in its ambition to build the infrastructure for social commerce across the continent. By combining a localized product strategy with robust partnerships and AI-driven automation, the startup is well-positioned to capture a growing market of small and medium-sized businesses eager to digitize sales and customer engagement. With social messaging increasingly at the heart of online commerce in Africa, Chpter is betting on a future where business happens in the chat window.
Source : Techcabal.com