Chpter, a Kenyan software company building infrastructure for social commerce, has expanded into 11 African countries through a partnership with Nigeria-based payments firm Flutterwave.

The new markets—Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Zambia—add to its presence in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

The deal enables merchants to receive payments via mobile money, cards or bank transfers in local currencies or US dollars, with Flutterwave handling the backend processing and settlement. The partnership also supports Chpter’s launch of Pluto, a WhatsApp API suite helping developers and businesses build end-to-end customer journeys on the platform.

As part of its growth strategy, Chpter has adopted an AI-first product approach. Artificial intelligence now handles nearly half of all customer interactions, with the company targeting over 80 percent automation as adoption and trust increase.

This expansion comes amid a broader wave of mobile commerce and fintech integration across Africa. According to the GSMA 2024 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money, Africa accounts for 70% of the world’s $1.4 trillion in mobile money transaction value.

With over 800mn mobile connections in sub-Saharan Africa as of late 2023, according to GSMA Intelligence, startups like Chpter are tapping into a growing trend of businesses selling directly via chat applications, bypassing traditional e-commerce storefronts.

“We have been onboarding dozens of new businesses every week, and many of these businesses are coming from markets such as Senegal and Tanzania, despite us not having done any direct outreach there yet,” said Mark Kiarie, Chpter’s chief executive. “This partnership means these businesses can now go live on Chpter and start accepting payments directly via WhatsApp and Instagram.”

Chpter offers a unified dashboard for merchants to manage orders, automate messaging, run marketing campaigns and process payments on WhatsApp and Instagram. As a Meta Business Partner, it has access to features such as product catalogues, in-chat checkout and cross-platform conversation management.

The company raised $1.2mn in pre-seed funding in September 2024, led by Pani, co-founded by former Cellulant CEO Ken Njoroge. Other backers include Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital and angel investors. It operates on a subscription model priced between $50 and $550 monthly, with additional revenue from paid messaging and AI-powered services.