Afrigather Chpter was accepted into two accelerator applications earlier than closing this pre-seed deal.
Chpter, a Kenyan e-commerce startup launched by co-founders of YC-backed Marketforce, has raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed spherical and can use the brand new funding to enhance its expertise stack and develop into Egypt and Nigeria.
Based in 2022 by Tesh Mbaabu, Mesongo Sibuti, Kuria Kevin and Mark Kiarie, Chpter helps companies convert social media from a advertising channel to a gross sales platform with chat, order, and fee instruments. The corporate fees a month-to-month subscription and earns a transaction payment for funds processed on its platform. A few of its purchasers embrace insurer Britam, shoe retailer Kicks Kenya, and e-commerce platform Phoneplace. The corporate operates in Kenya and South Africa.
“We’re investing in our tech stack to supply an end-to-end product, connecting the APIs from social media platforms similar to WhatsApp and Instagram with in style e-commerce and buyer relationship administration techniques like Shopify and Woocommerce,” Tesh Mbaabu, Chpter’s co-founder and CEO instructed TechCabal.
Pani, an Africa-focused funding agency co-founded by Cellulant’s former CEO, Ken Njoroge, led the funding spherical. Different members embrace Plesion Capital, Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, and ViKtoria Ventures, and angel buyers, together with Nala founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes and Workpay co-founders Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo.
The fundraising is a vote of confidence from buyers within the younger startup. It was based whereas its two co-founders have been operating Marketforce, a YC-backed Kenyan e-commerce platform as soon as valued at over $100 million.
A few of Chpter’s buyers had beforehand invested in Marketforce, though Mbaabu declined to share additional particulars. Chpter operates independently of Marketforce.
“Chpter was and isn’t underneath the MarketForce umbrella. It will proceed working independently. Nonetheless, MF is a shareholder in it,” Mbaabu instructed TechCabal in Could 2024.
Chpter’s acceptance into the Norrsken Accelerator in 2023 and the Safaricom Spark Accelerator in Could 2024 could have positioned it as a key startup in conversational commerce.
Norrsken Accelerator funding stays undisclosed. Chpter joined Safaricom’s Spark Accelerator in Could 2024. The telco supplied three months of coaching and mentorship to assist Chpter scale.
