Not a chatbot that sends a link
Most chat tools answer a question and send the customer off to a website to find it again. Kibanda stays in the conversation, grounded in your real store.
It sells what you actually sell
Every product, price and photo comes from your store's live catalog, never from a copy that drifts out of date. If it isn't in your catalog, the assistant doesn't invent it.
It follows the conversation
Swipe-reply "this one" and it knows which. Send a photo of what you're after and it looks. Type in your own language, mixed the way people really type.
Checkout stays yours
The customer pays on your store's own checkout, with your payment methods, currency and taxes. When your store says it's paid, the chat says so too. We never touch card details.
One order, start to finish
Connect your store once. After that, every conversation runs on what it already knows.
Connect your store
Link a Shopify store (more platforms to follow) and the assistant reads its catalog directly. Prices, stock and photos stay where you manage them today.
They ask, they browse
"Something warm for winter?" gets a real answer from your catalog, with the option to see photos of any product or variant, right in the chat.
They build a cart
The assistant keeps the cart as they talk: add, swap, remove. It reads the cart back when they ask.
They check out on your store
A checkout link from your own store arrives in the chat. Shipping, taxes and payment are handled by your platform, as they are for any other order.
You see it as a normal order
The order lands in your store like any other. When it is paid, the customer gets a "Paid ✓" in the chat.
A person can step in
When the assistant can't answer something only you know, it asks you on WhatsApp. Reply in a few words and it answers the customer, in your shop's voice.
What it does
Built for small merchants in messaging-first markets, where customers would rather chat than browse a website.
Reads your live store
The assistant searches your store's catalog as the customer types, with typos, slang and half-remembered names, and quotes the price and options it just found.
Shows, not just tells
Product and variant photos go straight into the chat. Customers can also send you a photo of what they want and the assistant will look at it.
Speaks your customer's language
It replies in whatever language the customer writes in, including mixed-language messages. Quality follows the underlying model, and we'll tell you honestly how well your languages work before you commit.
It doesn't make things up
Prices, stock and options come only from your catalog. When it can't tell, it says so or asks you, instead of guessing.
Your platform takes the money
Currency, locale, taxes and payment methods come from your store. Kibanda builds no payment methods of its own and holds no funds.
Paid means paid
We check your store for the payment status and tell the customer in the chat. No screenshots of receipts, no guessing.
It asks you when it doesn't know
Opening hours, special requests, anything outside the catalog: the assistant asks you on WhatsApp and relays your answer.
WhatsApp now, more next
The assistant sits behind the conversation, not inside one app. WhatsApp is live today; Telegram and other channels are planned, and your store connection stays the same.
Pricing
No setup fees, no contracts. Free while we onboard our first shops.
Early shops
during our pilot, with setup done for you
- A WhatsApp assistant on your own number
- Connected to your Shopify store
- Checkout and payment on your own store
- We set it up with you
WhatsApp conversation charges from Meta are billed by them directly, at their rates. We'll always show any Kibanda fee before it applies.
Questions shops ask
Do I need to move my products to Kibanda?
No. Your catalog stays in your store. The assistant reads it live, so a price change or a sold-out item is reflected in the next conversation.
Which stores does it work with?
Shopify first. We plan to add other platforms such as Etsy and Zalando. If you sell somewhere else, tell us where and we'll say plainly whether and when we can connect it.
Is it only for WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is live today because that is where many customers already are. The assistant is built to sit behind any messaging channel, and Telegram and others are next.
Do my customers need to install anything?
No. They use the WhatsApp they already have: they browse, ask, add to a cart and open your store's checkout link.
Which payments work?
Whatever your store supports. The customer pays on your store's checkout and we confirm the payment in the chat once your store reports it. Kibanda never handles card details or PINs.
What languages does the assistant speak?
It answers in whatever language the customer writes in, mixed the way people really type. Quality follows the underlying model, and we'll tell you honestly how well your languages work before you commit.
What happens when it doesn't know an answer?
It asks you on WhatsApp. You reply in a few words and it answers the customer in your shop's voice.
Who delivers the order?
You do, through your store's normal fulfilment. The order appears in your store like any other.
Where does it work?
WhatsApp is how people buy in much of the world. Your store sets the currency and locale and we follow them. If you sell on WhatsApp anywhere, tell us your market and we'll say plainly what works now and what we would build with you.
How much does it cost?
Free during our pilot, with setup done for you. Meta's WhatsApp charges are billed by them directly. We'll always show any Kibanda fee before it applies.
We're starting with ten shops, anywhere in the world
If you run a store and your customers already message you on WhatsApp, we'd like to set Kibanda up for you, free, and learn from how you work.
Email hello@kibanda.africa