UBAWA

UBAWA is a Kenyan payment processing platform for businesses and social media entrepreneurs that need to accept digital payments and manage collections across multiple channels.

Key capabilities include:

• Multi-channel payment acceptance across social media, mobile money, bank payments, plus channels such as SMS and USSD (as outlined in the product brief), designed to let customers pay via their preferred method.
• AI social chatbots for sales and support that engage customers on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, handle inquiries, guide purchases, and provide always-on support.
• Invoicing with flexible digital billing and automated adjustments to reduce manual errors.
• Disbursement portal and payment aggregation tools that support bulk payments, real-time transaction tracking, reporting, and automated reconciliation to reduce discrepancies.

Available on Web, with integration support via a payment processing platform (PAYCLOUD).

Target users include SMEs, merchants, and social commerce sellers in Kenya who need to collect payments, reconcile transactions, and manage customer engagement from conversational channels.

Notable in the local market context, the company was founded in 2021 and won Start-up of the Year (Kenya) at the 2021 African Start-up Awards, with seed funding reported in 2022 from Platform Capital via Merge.