Chpter, an AI-powered conversational commerce platform, has raised US$1.2 million in their pre-seed round to expand product visibility and enhance clients’ marketing capabilities.
The startup, which was founded in 2022, enables e-commerce merchants to sell more commodities by employing automated conversations for marketing in social platforms such as Whatsapp and Instagram. Chpter’s funding round was led by Ken Njoroge of PANI, also Cofounder & Former CEO of Cellulant – with additional funding from Plesion Capital, Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, and ViKtoria Ventures. The raise also attracted angel investors including NALA Founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes, and Workpay Cofounders Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo.
“At Pani we’re always on the look out for founder teams with incredible grit- they embody the relentless passion and fight needed to build in Africa. When we find such founders, we walk with them & invest in them,” Ken Njoroge said.
Chpter intends to optimize end-to-end online shopping experiences using social networks. It was founded by Mesongo Sibuti, Kuria Kevin, Mark Kiarie, and Tesh Mbaabu to prevent e-commerce businesses from losing up to 40% of their revenue to abandoned carts.
By optimizing conversion, Chpter will use the funds raised to further develop their AI-powered product for maximized experience. The founders are optimistic that their product will become a crucial tool for e-commerce businesses, projecting that the sector will grow to rake revenues worth US$46 billion and 500 million shoppers in Africa by 2025.
“We are thrilled to pioneer the social commerce revolution, starting in Africa, as more and more consumers turn to social channels such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to communicate and purchase from the brands they love,” said CEO and co-founder of Chpter, Tesh Mbaabu.
Conversational messaging platforms like Whatsapp have billions of users globally, emphasizing their importance for e-commerce enterprises. Tools that can maximize businesses’ abilities to market their products and maintain customer relations will have a high usage rate.
“A WhatsApp-led e-commerce experience makes it more inclusive and accessible to the underserved mass market, due to its low data and digital literacy requirements as well as the over 95% usage rate in many emerging markets,” said Mark Kiarie, Co-Founder and COO at Chpter.
Chpter is also an approved Meta Partner, allowing them uniquely utilize advanced features in Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram to serve businesses. The startup can set up product catalogs to facilitate easy checkout and payments within these platforms, as well as tailoring marketing campaigns for their clients.
Chpter is currently operational in Kenya and South Africa, collaborating with companies in the ecommerce and retail, financial services, education, media & entertainment, travel & hospitality, health and wellness sectors. The startup plans to enter new African markets like Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt and Morocco over the next few months.
Its clients include Britam, Decathlon, Dovey Pharma, Kicks Kenya, TSHEPO, Galxboy, Phoneplace, Flexpay, Standup Collective, IKOJN, City Walk, Artfit, Vision Plus and Victoria Homestore.
“We invested in Chpter because of their highly innovative technology and best-in-class leadership team. Their digital solutions solve complex problems specific to African commerce, highlighting their potential for pan-African success, and their leadership team has the capability and experience to capitalize on this massive opportunity,” said Ben Finlay, General Partner at Plesion Capital.