Chpter, an innovative e-commerce startup based in Kenya, has successfully secured $1.2 million during its pre-seed investment round. The company, which was initiated by the entrepreneurial minds behind the Y Combinator-supported Marketforce, aims to allocate the newly acquired funds towards enhancing its technological infrastructure and pursuing growth opportunities in the Egyptian and Nigerian markets.
The venture was established in 2022 by a team of four co-founders: Tesh Mbaabu, Mesongo Sibuti, Kuria Kevin, and Mark Kiarie. Chpter’s primary mission is to transform social media from a mere marketing tool into a robust sales channel by providing integrated chat, order management, and payment processing tools. This approach allows businesses to seamlessly conduct sales through social media platforms.
Chpter generates revenue by charging businesses a monthly subscription fee and collecting a commission on transactions processed through its platform. Among its clientele are notable names such as Britam, an insurance company; Kicks Kenya, a footwear retailer; and Phoneplace, an e-commerce entity specializing in mobile phones. Currently, Chpter’s operations span across Kenya and South Africa.
In a recent interview, Tesh Mbaabu, the co-founder and CEO of Chpter, elaborated on the company’s strategic plan to invest in their technology stack. The goal is to create a comprehensive product that bridges the gap between social media APIs, such as those from WhatsApp and Instagram, and widely-used e-commerce and customer relationship management systems like Shopify and Woocommerce.
The pre-seed funding round was spearheaded by Pani, an investment firm with a focus on African markets, co-founded by Ken Njoroge, the former CEO of Cellulant. The investment round also saw participation from a diverse group of investors, including Plesion Capital, Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, and ViKtoria Ventures. Additionally, angel investors like Benjamin Fernandes, the founder and CEO of Nala, as well as Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo, co-founders of Workpay, contributed to the round.
This successful fundraising effort represents a significant endorsement from the investment community for Chpter, which was conceived while its co-founders were still at the helm of Marketforce, a Kenyan e-commerce platform previously valued at over $100 million. Notably, some of Chpter’s current investors had also invested in Marketforce. However, Mbaabu clarified that Chpter operates as an independent entity, separate from Marketforce, despite Marketforce holding a stake in Chpter.
Mbaabu’s statement in May 2024 underscored the independence of Chpter from Marketforce, emphasizing that “Chpter was and is not under the MarketForce umbrella. It is going to continue operating independently. However, MF is a shareholder in it.”
Chpter’s potential as a leading startup in the realm of conversational commerce has been further reinforced by its acceptance into prestigious accelerator programs. In 2023, Chpter was welcomed into the Norrsken Accelerator, although the details of the investment from this program remain undisclosed. More recently, in May 2024, Chpter joined the Safaricom Spark Accelerator, where it benefited from three months of intensive training and mentorship designed to aid in the company’s scaling efforts.
