Ecommerce Setup Guide — Kenya
Set Up Your Online Store & Start Selling in Kenya
A complete walkthrough for Kenyan business owners — from creating your account to receiving your first M-Pesa order. No coding, no tech skills needed.
< 1 hr
to go live
14 days
free trial
What your sell.ke store includes
Everything you need is built in — no plugins, no third-party services.
Mobile-first storefront
Over 80% of Kenyan shoppers browse on mobile. Your sell.ke store loads fast and looks great on every screen.
M-Pesa checkout — no plugins
Lipa na M-Pesa is built directly into your checkout. Customers pay in seconds, you get notified immediately.
Inventory synced with your POS
One stock count for in-store and online. A sale anywhere updates your inventory everywhere.
Order dashboard
See all pending, confirmed, and completed orders in one place. Export reports for accounting.
WhatsApp & social sharing
Share your full store or individual product pages directly into WhatsApp chats, Instagram Stories, and Facebook.
Custom domain support
Use yourbusiness.sell.ke for free, or point your own .co.ke or .com domain at your store.
Step-by-step: setting up your store
Follow these steps in order — most sellers complete the full setup in under an hour.
Create your free sell.ke account
Go to pos.sell.ke and sign up with your phone number. No credit card or paperwork needed. Your store URL (e.g. amani.sell.ke) is reserved instantly.
Pick a store name that matches your business — customers will see it in their browser bar and on receipts.
Add your brand — logo, colours & store name
Upload your logo, set your brand colours, and write a short store description. This appears on your storefront, order confirmation emails, and receipts.
A clear logo and description builds trust with first-time buyers.
Add your products
Add products one by one or bulk-upload from a spreadsheet. For each product: upload photos, write a description, set a price, and enter your stock quantity.
Use multiple photos per product — stores with 3+ photos per listing see significantly higher conversion.
Set up product categories
Group your products into categories (e.g. 'Clothes', 'Electronics', 'Fresh Produce') so customers can browse easily. Categories show up in your store's top navigation.
Keep category names short and obvious — the way a customer would say it out loud.
Connect M-Pesa payments
Link your Safaricom Paybill or Buy Goods (Till) number. sell.ke's team walks you through the setup over WhatsApp — it typically takes under 30 minutes. Once connected, customers pay with M-Pesa at checkout without leaving your store.
You can also enable Airtel Money and card payments from the same settings screen.
Choose your domain
Your store is live at yourbusiness.sell.ke by default — no extra cost. If you want a .co.ke or .com address, you can point it at your sell.ke store for free from the domain settings.
A custom domain looks more professional and is easier for customers to remember.
Share your store link
Copy your store link and paste it into your WhatsApp Business bio, Instagram bio, Facebook page, and any printed materials. You can also share individual product links directly in chats.
Pin your store link in your WhatsApp Business profile — customers tap it and land straight on your storefront.
Receive your first order
When a customer places an order and pays via M-Pesa, you receive an instant notification. Confirm the order, pack it, and arrange delivery or pick-up. The order appears in your dashboard with the payment status already confirmed.
Turn on order SMS alerts so you never miss a sale even when the dashboard isn't open.
Everything included in every sell.ke store
What it actually costs to set up an online store in Kenya
Most guides quote the platform fee and stop there. These are the real line items, including the ones nobody mentions until you hit them.
| Line item | Typical cost | Needed? | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| sell.ke platform subscription | From KES 1,499/mo | Required | Storefront, M-Pesa checkout, POS and inventory. 14-day free trial first. |
| Store web address | Free | Included | yourbusiness.sell.ke is provisioned the moment you register. |
| .co.ke domain name | ~KES 1,000–2,000/yr | Optional | Bought from a KeNIC-accredited registrar. Point it at your store free of charge. |
| M-Pesa Paybill or Till | Safaricom rates | Required | Applied for through Safaricom. Transaction charges are theirs, not ours. |
| Business name registration | ~KES 1,000 one-off | Recommended | Via eCitizen. Needed for a business bank account and a Paybill in your trading name. |
| KRA PIN | Free | Required | Registered on iTax. You cannot issue a compliant tax invoice without one. |
| County single business permit | From ~KES 5,000/yr | If you hold stock | Varies widely by county and by trade category. |
| Product photography | KES 0–20,000 | Optional | A recent phone camera in daylight is genuinely sufficient to start. |
Third-party costs are indicative ranges as of 2026 and are set by registrars, Safaricom and county governments — confirm current rates before you budget. The sell.ke subscription is the only figure here we control.
The realistic minimum
A seller who already has a Till number and uses the free yourbusiness.sell.ke address can be taking M-Pesa orders for the cost of the subscription and nothing else. Domain, registration and permits can all follow once the store is earning.
Where to build it: Kenya online store platforms compared
The decision that matters most is how you get paid. In Kenya that means M-Pesa in the checkout, not a card form your customer will abandon.
| Platform | M-Pesa checkout | Monthly cost | Commission | In-store POS sync | KRA eTIMS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sell.ke | Built into checkout | From KES 1,499 | None | Yes — same stock count | Automatic |
| Shopify | Third-party gateway only | Billed in USD | Gateway fee per order | Separate paid add-on | Not supported |
| WooCommerce | Community plugin | Hosting + plugins | None | Third-party plugin | Build it yourself |
| Jumia | Yes — Jumia collects | None | Per-order commission | No | No |
| Instagram / WhatsApp only | Manual — you send a till | None | None | No | No |
Shopify and WooCommerce are capable platforms — they are simply built for markets where cards dominate. If most of your customers pay by M-Pesa and you also sell over a counter, the integration work you would do to make them fit Kenya is work sell.ke has already done. Compare the full landscape in our guide to ecommerce platforms in Kenya.
Registration and tax: what you need, and when
You can start selling before any of this is in place. Leaving it too long is what gets expensive.
Get a KRA PIN
Free, done on iTax, and the prerequisite for everything else. Without a PIN you cannot issue a tax invoice a business customer can claim against.
Register a business name
Done on eCitizen for roughly KES 1,000. This is what lets you open a business bank account and hold a Paybill in your trading name rather than your personal one.
Understand your eTIMS position
Since the Finance Act 2023, expenses are only tax-deductible when supported by an electronic tax invoice. That makes eTIMS a concern even for businesses well below the VAT threshold, because your business customers will start asking for compliant invoices.
Watch the VAT threshold
VAT registration becomes mandatory at KES 5 million in annual turnover. Track your run rate rather than discovering the crossing at year end — sell.ke's reports show rolling twelve-month revenue.
Get a county business permit
Required once you hold stock at a physical premises. Cost and category vary substantially between counties, so check with yours directly.
Every sale through sell.ke can produce a KRA eTIMS-compliant receipt automatically — see how eTIMS integration works. This is general guidance, not tax advice; confirm your own position with KRA or your accountant.
Getting orders to customers across Kenya
Delivery is where most new Kenyan stores lose their second order. Pick the method before you launch, not after the first sale.
Collection points
Pickup Mtaani and similar networks. Cheapest per parcel and the option most Kenyan buyers choose when offered, because they carry the lower fee.
Countrywide courier
Fargo Courier, G4S, Speed AF. Predictable outside Nairobi, typically next-day to major towns, with tracking your customer can check.
Nairobi same-day riders
On-demand rider apps and bodaboda arrangements. Fast and the strongest conversion lever inside the city, but the most expensive per drop.
Customer pick-up
Free, and it brings the buyer into your shop where they routinely buy something else. Worth offering even when you deliver.
Pre-launch checklist
Work through this before you share the link publicly.
Five mistakes that sink new Kenyan online stores
Drawn from what we see across stores on the platform.
✕Launching with one photo per product
Buyers cannot pick the item up. Three or more angles in daylight consistently outperform a single shot, and cost nothing but ten minutes.
✕Hiding delivery cost until checkout
A fee that appears at the last step is the most common reason a Kenyan cart is abandoned. Show it on the product page.
✕Letting online and in-store stock drift apart
Selling something online you already sold at the counter costs you the customer permanently. One catalogue, one stock count, both channels.
✕Treating the storefront as the whole job
A store with no traffic makes no sales. Budget as much effort for WhatsApp, Instagram and repeat customers as you spent building the store.
✕Waiting for a perfect catalogue before going live
Launch with your ten best sellers. The catalogue is easier to finish once real orders are telling you what people actually want.
Setting up your online store — FAQ
How do I set up an online store in Kenya?
Sign up for a free sell.ke account at pos.sell.ke, add your products with photos and prices, connect your M-Pesa Paybill or Buy Goods number, and share your store link. The full setup takes under an hour with sell.ke's WhatsApp support team helping you at each step.
Do I need technical skills to set up an online store in Kenya?
No. sell.ke is designed for business owners, not developers. Everything is point-and-click — upload photos, type descriptions, set prices. No coding, no hosting setup, no domain configuration required unless you want a custom domain.
How do I add M-Pesa to my online store?
In your sell.ke dashboard, go to Settings → Payments and enter your Safaricom Paybill or Buy Goods number. sell.ke connects directly to Safaricom's API so M-Pesa payments at checkout are confirmed automatically — no manual reconciliation needed.
Can I use my own domain name for my sell.ke store?
Yes. Your store comes with a free subdomain (yourbusiness.sell.ke). You can also point any .co.ke, .com, or other domain you own at your sell.ke store at no extra charge from the domain settings in your dashboard.
How do customers find and access my store?
Share your store link on WhatsApp Business, Instagram, Facebook, and in any printed materials like flyers or receipts. Customers tap the link, browse your products, and pay with M-Pesa without needing to download any app.
How do I manage orders from my online store?
All orders appear in your sell.ke dashboard with real-time status. You receive an SMS and in-app notification when a new order arrives. Confirm, pack, and mark orders as fulfilled — the customer receives a confirmation automatically.
Can my online store and physical shop share the same inventory?
Yes — this is one of sell.ke's core features. One product catalogue and one stock count powers both your in-store POS checkout and your online store. A sale in either place deducts from the same inventory.
Can I create an online store in Kenya for free?
You can build the entire store during the free trial. sell.ke gives you 14 days with no credit card — set up your storefront, load your catalogue, connect M-Pesa and take real orders before you pay anything. After the trial, plans start at KES 1,499/month. There is no permanently free tier, because a free store that cannot take M-Pesa payments is not a store.
What do I need to set up an online store in Kenya?
Four things: a phone number to register, product photos and prices, a Safaricom Paybill or Buy Goods (Till) number to collect payment, and a way to deliver. You do not need a registered company, a domain name, web hosting, or a developer to start. Business registration and a KRA PIN become necessary as you grow — see the compliance section above.
How long does it take to set up an online store in Kenya?
Most sellers are live within one hour. Account creation takes about 60 seconds, branding around 10 minutes, and product loading 15–30 minutes depending on catalogue size. M-Pesa connection is the long pole — it usually completes the same day, and sometimes within 30 minutes, depending on how fast Safaricom processes your Daraja credentials.
How much does it cost to start an online store in Kenya?
The platform is the only compulsory cost — from KES 1,499/month on sell.ke. Everything else is optional: a .co.ke domain runs roughly KES 1,000–2,000 a year, business name registration around KES 1,000 on eCitizen, and a county single business permit from about KES 5,000 a year. A seller using the free yourbusiness.sell.ke subdomain and an existing Till number can be trading for the price of the subscription alone.
Do I need to register a business to sell online in Kenya?
You can start trading without one, and many sellers do. You will need registration once you want a business bank account, a business Paybill in your trading name, or to invoice other companies. Registering a business name on eCitizen is inexpensive and takes a few days. A KRA PIN is free and worth getting immediately — you cannot issue compliant invoices without one.
Is sell.ke better than Shopify for a Kenyan business?
For a Kenya-based seller, yes on the things that decide sales. Shopify has no native Lipa na M-Pesa checkout — you pay for a third-party gateway and its per-transaction cut — bills in US dollars, and has no KRA eTIMS support at all. sell.ke has M-Pesa in the checkout by default, bills in shillings, issues eTIMS-compliant receipts automatically, and syncs the same stock count to your physical counter. Shopify is the stronger platform for a business selling primarily into the US or Europe.
Should I sell on Jumia or build my own online store?
Jumia gives you traffic you do not have to earn; your own store gives you margin and a customer list. Marketplace commission typically runs into double-digit percentages per order, you compete on price against sellers of the same item on the same page, and the buyer belongs to Jumia, not you. Most sell.ke merchants run both — the marketplace for discovery, their own store for repeat customers, who are the profitable ones.
How do I deliver orders to customers across Kenya?
Within Nairobi, riders and courier apps handle same-day delivery. Countrywide, Pickup Mtaani, Fargo Courier, G4S and Speed AF move parcels to collection points cheaply, which most Kenyan buyers prefer over door delivery because it costs less. Set your delivery fee per zone at checkout and quote a realistic window — late delivery is the single most common cause of a bad first review.
Ready to set up your store?
Free trial — no credit card. Your store is live with M-Pesa payments in under an hour. The sell.ke team supports you on WhatsApp every step of the way.
The shop is one channel of one system
The storefront reads the same stock and prices as the till. These pages cover the parts that decide whether selling online actually pays.
Delivery that pays for itself
Zones with their own rates, so the delivery fee covers the delivery instead of eating the margin.
Prices, price lists and promotions
Wholesale and retail off one product, quantity breaks, customer-specific lists, VAT-inclusive display.
Stock you can trust
Batch and expiry, serial numbers, reorder levels, stock takes and the formulas behind them.
Clothing boutique
Size-then-colour variants, per-variant stock, the online shop as a second branch.
Furniture & décor
Made-to-order lead times, deposits, delivery fees by zone on bulky goods.
General retail / duka
The broad-intent catch-all — links out to the specific trades.
Comparing options? The best pos system in kenya holds the full picture — twelve features and sixteen trades in one place.