Chpter, a Kenyan based innovative AI-powered social commerce platform has successfully raised $1.2 million in Pre-Seed funding, marking a major milestone in its mission to revolutionize how businesses engage with customers on social media. The funding round, led by Ken Njoroge, Cofounder and Former CEO of Cellulant, through his investment firm PANI, attracted several investors familiar with the Kenyan startup ecosystem. Notable participants include Plesion Capital, Techstars, and angel investors such as NALA Founder Benjamin Fernandes and Workpay Cofounders Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo.
Founded in Kenya in 2022 by Tesh Mbaabu (CEO), Mesongo Sibuti (CTO), Kuria Kevin (CPO), and Mark Kiarie (COO), Chpter aims to capitalize on the growing trend of conversational commerce to drive business sales on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. The startup plans to use the newly raised capital to accelerate product development, expand its geographic reach, and strengthen its sales and marketing efforts. In the coming months, Chpter intends to enter at least five new markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, and Morocco.
In May 2024, Chpter became an official Meta Business partner, allowing it to offer advanced Meta features worldwide. This includes setting up product catalogs for seamless checkout on WhatsApp, running marketing campaigns across Meta platforms, and delivering innovative solutions for growth, engagement, and automation on WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
Chpter’s acceptance into the Norrsken Accelerator in 2023 and the Safaricom Spark Accelerator in May 2024 has helped establish it as a prominent player in conversational commerce.
