Kenyan conversational commerce startup Sukhiba Connect is helping businesses across Africa power seamless buying and selling on WhatsApp, as social commerce booms on the continent.
Africa’s social commerce market is rapidly expanding, with businesses increasingly leveraging platforms like WhatsApp to reach and engage customers. However, limitations around digital payments and delivery have hindered the growth of social commerce in Africa.
This is where Sukhiba Connect comes in. The company has developed a B2B tool that enables businesses to reach and transact with customers directly within WhatsApp. Sellers can use Sukhiba Connect to manage orders, accept mobile payments, send notifications, and group buyers, all without leaving the app.
“We have brought the ability to do the full transaction from conversation to purchase, payments, and delivery on WhatsApp,” said Sukhiba Connect co-founder and CEO Ananth Gudipati.
So far, Sukhiba Connect has enabled WhatsApp commerce for over 30 companies, largely manufacturers and distributors serving some 15,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). These sellers use Sukhiba Connect to help sales teams expand their reach and gain new retailers as customers.
One of the key features of Sukhiba Connect is customer routing, which assigns sales reps to provide tailored support within WhatsApp based on location. Gudipati says this helps to maintain vital personal relationships between buyers and sellers.
Sukhiba Connect also brings CRM capabilities to WhatsApp. Companies can use the platform to map views, monitor conversations, and more to manage the sales process end-to-end.
Sukhiba Connect currently operates in Kenya, where WhatsApp dominates messaging. However, high usage across Africa offers significant expansion potential. The company now plans to grow beyond Kenya after securing $1.5 million in seed funding led by CRE Ventures.
Nigeria is one target market, given its massive WhatsApp penetration. However, localisation is needed as some e-commerce functionalities are missing from WhatsApp’s basic business tools. Sukhiba Connect is among the African startups filling these gaps.
“Significant transactions and conversations happen on WhatsApp, even if the app lacks capabilities to record them,” said Gudipati. “Whether enabling commerce directly or facilitating conversations leading to it, WhatsApp plays a major role.”
Sukhiba Connect pivoted last year from an asset-heavy bulk order model to pure conversational commerce. The shift aligned with its strength in building innovative, scalable software.
Rather than create a new app, Sukhiba Connect tapped the existing WhatsApp ecosystem and habits. Gudipati believes this lowers barriers as communities already exist on the platform.
With Africa’s accelerating social commerce, Sukhiba Connect aims to power seamless transactions through messaging. Leveraging WhatsApp’s widespread use and familiarity, the startup is bringing conversational commerce to sellers across the continent.
