Built for African merchants · Rwanda first
Your store, on WhatsApp.
Run by an AI trained for your business.
Yopay gives every merchant a dedicated AI assistant that greets customers, walks them through your menu, takes orders, books tables, and accepts mobile money — all inside the chat your customers already use.
Selling online shouldn't mean a Shopify subscription, a payment gateway that takes 3%, and a developer.
Most African merchants are small. You sell from one shop. Your customers already message you on WhatsApp. The tools meant for global e-commerce don't fit how you actually work — and they're priced for someone else.
- ⚠
No 24/7 staff to reply
Customers text after hours. By the time you read it, they've gone elsewhere.
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Manual everything
Order taken on WhatsApp, written in a notebook, paid in cash, hand-delivered. One typo and the order's wrong.
- ⚠
Payment fees that hurt
Card gateways take 2-3% per transaction. On a 5,000 RWF sale that's a real cut of your margin.
How it works
Four steps, two of them on us. You stay in control of your business.
- 1
You apply
Tell us about your business in a short form. We come back to you within a few days to talk through your needs and quote a commission rate.
- 2
We build your AI
We train an assistant on your menu, your tone, your hours, your special rules. It speaks the languages your customers speak — French, English, Kinyarwanda mixed.
- 3
Customers chat with you
Your dedicated WhatsApp number goes live. The AI handles the routine — orders, bookings, FAQ. You step in whenever you want, from your phone.
- 4
You get paid
Customers pay through MTN Mobile Money directly to your merchant code. No middleman holding your funds. We take a small commission on completed sales.
What you get
AI assistant per merchant
Each business gets its own assistant with its own tone and rules — not a generic chatbot.
Three menus, one chat
Restaurant + bar + cigar lounge? Pharmacy + cosmetics? One conversation, the right menu surfaces when needed.
Mobile-money native
MTN MoMo merchant code paid directly. Tap a code, pay, the AI confirms — no copy-pasting screenshots.
Reservations with a deposit
Cut no-shows on busy nights. A small deposit holds the table, deducted from the final bill on arrival.
You take over anytime
Read every conversation in real time on your phone. One tap and you reply yourself. The AI learns from your corrections.
Privacy that respects the law
Customers can wipe their data with one word ("ibanga"). Built to comply with Rwanda Loi N° 058/2021.
Languages of your customers
English, French, Kinyarwanda — mixed naturally. Sango, Lingala, Swahili added per market.
Honest demo mode
When the live system isn't wired yet, the AI says so. Never confirms a fake booking or a fake payment.
Who Yopay fits
We start with businesses that already sell informally on WhatsApp or by phone, and want a calmer, faster way to handle inbound demand.
- 🍽️Restaurants
- 🍺Bars & sport bars
- 🍷Wine shops & caves
- 🥃Spirits retailers
- ☕Coffee shops
- 💊Pharmacies (OTC)
- 🛠️Auto & moto parts
- 🛒Neighborhood groceries
- 👗Fashion boutiques
- 📱Electronics resellers
Some product categories (pharmacy prescription, certain regulated goods) follow extra rules per country — we handle that during onboarding.
Pricing
We don't charge subscriptions. We make money when you make money — a small commission on completed sales. No hidden setup fee, no monthly minimum.
Starter
The first sales come through us
- ✓Commission on completed sales (rate agreed at onboarding)
- ✓WhatsApp number provisioned for you
- ✓AI assistant trained on your products
- ✓Merchant Android app to oversee orders
Growth
When you're past 50 orders / week
- ✓Lower commission tier
- ✓Delivery dispatch (your drivers + ours)
- ✓Reservations with deposit (restaurants & bars)
- ✓Marketing pushes to opted-in customers
Multi-shop
Several locations, one AI per shop
- ✓One agent per shop, shared dashboard
- ✓Unified analytics across locations
- ✓Custom integrations (POS, kitchen printer)
- ✓Negotiated commission
Final commission depends on category, average order value, and volume. We discuss it openly during the application call.
Common questions
- Do my customers need an app?
- No. They chat with you on WhatsApp like they already do. They tap a button to see your menu, tap a code to pay with MoMo. That's it.
- Will the AI mess up my orders?
- It's prompted to never invent prices, never confirm a booking it can't actually make, and to ask you when it's unsure. You see every conversation live and can take over instantly.
- What if it answers in the wrong language?
- It detects the language of the customer and matches. We support code-mixing (English-Kinyarwanda) which is how people actually text in Kigali.
- Can it sell alcohol or cigars?
- Yes, with an age check at the start of the conversation, and on a separate channel that respects WhatsApp rules. We work with you to set it up correctly.
- What happens if my customer wants their data deleted?
- They type "ibanga" or "forget me", and the assistant wipes their address, preferences, and history. Required by Rwanda's data protection law.
- How long until I'm live?
- A simple shop with a fixed menu can go live in 2–3 weeks once we have your details. Multi-space businesses with reservations take 4–6 weeks.
Ready to give your shop a 24/7 front-of-house?
Tell us about your business in a 5-minute form. We come back to you with the next steps.
© 2026 Yopay · Built by Ajili.africa · Kigali, Rwanda