Sokobuni — The Commerce Platform Built for Kenyan Creators

Two ways to sell

Solo creator or creative collective. We built for both.

Sokobuni Store

Your brand, your domain, your rules

A complete storefront for individual creators, brands, and boutiques. Sell physical goods, digital downloads with licensing, and book your creative services, all from one place.

M-Pesa, Airtel Money & card payments
Digital products with license management
Service bookings & availability slots
Phone/OTP login, no passwords needed
Built-in referral program for growth

Explore Store

Sokobuni Collective

Unite creators under one marketplace

A multivendor marketplace where vendors manage their own products, orders, and earnings. You set the commissions and oversee everything from a single admin panel.

Vendor dashboards with full self-service
Flexible commissions: flat, %, or hybrid
Automatic order splitting to vendors
Customer-vendor messaging
Reviews, ratings & community pages

Explore Collective

Why Sokobuni

Global platforms weren't built for Kenya. We were.

Most e-commerce platforms treat Kenya as an afterthought. Sokobuni was built here, for here. With the payment methods, communication channels, and commerce patterns that actually work in this market.

Payments that just work

M-Pesa, Airtel Money, cards, and bank transfers through PesaPal. Your customers pay the way they already do. No international gateway headaches.

Phone-first, not email-first

Customers log in with their phone number and a one-time SMS code. No passwords to forget, no email verification hoops. Higher conversion, especially for first-time buyers.

SMS where it matters most

Order confirmations, booking reminders, and OTP codes via Africa's Talking SMS. Reach every customer, even without data. Plus branded SendGrid emails for those who prefer inbox.

Three product types, one catalog

Sell physical goods, digital downloads with proper licensing (personal, commercial, extended), and bookable services. All managed from a single admin dashboard.

Built-in referral engine

Every customer gets a unique referral code. When their friends buy, both earn rewards. Word-of-mouth is how Kenya shops. Now it's automated.

Kenya-first, globally accessible

KES currency formatting, 47-county shipping tiers, Africa/Nairobi timezone defaults, and +254 phone normalization. Not a plugin. It's the foundation.

Live in minutes, not months

01

Step 01

Choose your path

Solo store or multivendor marketplace. Tell us your name, domain, and what you sell.

02

Step 02

We provision everything

Database, backend, storefront, CMS, payment gateway, SSL, search. Fully automated in under 10 minutes.

03

Step 03

Add your products

Upload physical goods, digital files with license terms, or create service offerings with time slots. All from the admin dashboard.

04

Step 04

Go live and grow

Share your link, activate referrals, and let your customers spread the word. SMS and email notifications keep them coming back.

Platform capabilities

Not just a store. A complete commerce engine.

Payments

Accept M-Pesa, cards, and mobile money

PesaPal processes payments the way Kenya actually pays. M-Pesa, Airtel Money, credit cards, and bank transfers. Customers check out in an embedded iframe without leaving your store. Real-time payment status, automatic confirmation emails, and settlement direct to your bank account.

Digital Products

Sell music, photos, and designs with real licensing

Not just file hosting. Sokobuni's digital product system includes license scopes (personal, commercial, extended), territory restrictions, usage rights tracking, and industry-standard metadata (ISRC, ISBN, DOI). Secure time-limited downloads with rate limiting, download logging, and PDF license certificates generated automatically.

Service Bookings

Let customers book your expertise, not just buy your products

Photography sessions, music lessons, fashion consultations, art workshops. Create service offerings with time slots, capacity limits, and buffer times. Customers see real availability, book instantly with a confirmation code, and get SMS reminders. One-on-one, group, virtual, or in-person.

Localization

Your customers see prices in KES, ship to their county, and log in with their phone

When a customer in Mombasa visits your store, they see "KSh 2,500" not "$19.99." They pick Mombasa County from a dropdown and get a shipping quote instantly. Zero friction.

This is what it means to build for Kenya first. Shipping rates across all 47 counties. Booking slots in Nairobi time. Phone numbers that auto-format to +254. Every detail is tuned for the way people here actually buy.

And there's more

Every tool a creator needs, already built in

Instant Search

Algolia-powered search with typo tolerance, autocomplete, and category filters. Customers find what they want in milliseconds.

PDF Invoices & Certificates

Professional branded invoices generated on every order. Digital product purchases include PDF license certificates with scope, territory, and usage rights.

Branded Email Templates

Order receipts, shipping updates, booking confirmations, digital download links, and welcome emails. All branded with your store's colors and logo via SendGrid.

Wishlists

Customers save products they love and come back when they're ready. Simple, effective retention that drives repeat visits.

Strapi CMS

Enrich your products with blog posts, creator stories, and rich descriptions. Non-technical team members manage content while products stay synced with Medusa.

Secure Digital Delivery

Time-limited download links (5 min expiry), rate limiting (10/hour), download logging with IP and device tracking, and access revocation when needed.

What you need

What do I need to get started?

You focus on your craft. We handle the infrastructure. But you will need accounts with these services to power payments, emails, and SMS notifications.

PesaPal Account

To accept M-Pesa, Airtel Money, credit cards, and bank transfers. PesaPal handles payment processing and settlement to your bank account. Sign up at pesapal.com

SendGrid Account

For branded transactional emails: order receipts, shipping updates, booking confirmations, digital download links, and customer welcome emails. Sign up at sendgrid.com

Africa's Talking Account

For SMS notifications: order confirmations, OTP codes for phone login, and booking reminders. Reaches every customer, even without mobile data. Sign up at africastalking.com

A Domain Name

Your custom domain (e.g., yourstore.co.ke). We handle DNS setup, SSL certificates, and point it to your storefront. You can also start with a Sokobuni subdomain while you sort out your own.

A 4 GB Linux VPS

Your store runs on a server you own and control. We recommend a DigitalOcean 4 GB Basic Droplet running Ubuntu 22.04 LTS — the setup our team tests against. From $24/month. You retain full ownership of your infrastructure.

Learning Center — Live Now

IP & creative business training for Kenyan creators

Expert-led video lessons on intellectual property law and the business of creativity — produced by Wabunifu Content. Free for all Sokobuni sellers at learn.sokobuni.com.

Intellectual Property

Trademarks & Industrial Designs

Protect your brand, logo & creative work under Kenyan IP law.

Copyright Law

Copyright, Royalties & Ownership

Explained for creators by Sharon Watta.

Business Strategy

The Business Side of Creativity

Pricing, branding & income streams for creative entrepreneurs.

Open the Learning Center →

Each lesson includes the full video plus curated notes & practical steps for your store

Live demo stores you can explore right now

These are fully functional demonstration stores running real Sokobuni infrastructure. Browse products, test checkout, and explore the admin dashboards.

Demo stores. These stores are for demonstration purposes only. Products, vendors, and orders shown are sample data. No real transactions are processed.

Mwanzo

Full-featured store · mwanzo.sokobuni.com

Afro-Couture & Design House Admin Panel →

Sokobuni App

Bare-bones e-commerce · app.sokobuni.com

E-commerce layer only · add to any site Admin Panel →

Sokoyetu Multi-Vendor Dashboard

Each vendor manages products, orders, earnings, and customer messages

Storefront → Vendor Panel → Admin Panel →

Our partners

Working with trusted organizations to power creative commerce

This project has been made possible with the support of Africalia and Direction Générale de la Coopération au Développement (DGD), however its content is our sole responsibility and can in no way be taken to reflect Africalia's position.

Get in touch

Contact Us

Have a question about Sokobuni? Want to discuss a custom setup for your creative business? Drop us a message and we will get back to you.

Sell what you create.From Kenya, to the world.