How to Start an Online Shop in Kenya: Step by Step

Most guides on starting an online shop in Kenya are written for people planning to hire a developer and build something from scratch. If you already run a business and just want a straightforward way to sell online, the process is simpler than that. Here is what it actually looks like.

Step 1: Work out how many products you will list

Before anything else, count roughly how many products you plan to have live at once. This decides which plan fits you: Starter covers up to 10 products for KES 1,200 a year, Standard covers up to 30 for KES 2,500, and Growth covers up to 75 for KES 5,000. If you are unsure, it is fine to start smaller. You can move up a plan later as your catalog grows.

Step 2: Decide how you will get paid

Your customers will pay you directly, not through FlexiDuka, so you need a Till Number or PayBill ready before you launch (Pochi la Biashara is worth knowing about too, especially for the smallest traders). A Till Number is usually the simpler starting point if you are selling directly to customers, while a PayBill suits a business that needs to track payments against specific orders or invoices.

Step 3: Decide how orders will reach you

Not every shop needs the same checkout experience. Some shops use automated checkout, where the customer pays through an M-Pesa prompt at the point of purchase. Others take orders through WhatsApp instead, where you confirm the order and share payment details directly. Both are valid ways to sell, and which one fits depends on how hands-on you want to be with each order. We cover this decision in more detail in our guide to selling on WhatsApp.

Step 4: Send your business details

Once you have chosen a plan and know how you will accept payments, the next step is telling FlexiDuka about your business: your store name, the products you sell, and your contact details. This is done through the application form, and it takes a few minutes.

Step 5: Add your products

With your details submitted and your plan active, you add your products with photos, prices, and short descriptions. A phone camera is enough for photos at this stage. Clear, well-lit photos taken against a plain background tend to perform better than anything more elaborate. For the description, a customer usually just wants to know what it is, what it is made of or how it is made, and any size or quantity options, rather than a long sales pitch.

How long this actually takes

For someone with their products and photos already sorted, filling in the application form and adding the first batch of listings is usually a matter of a few hours spread across a day or two, not weeks. The parts that take longer are the ones outside FlexiDuka's control: waiting on a Till Number application if you do not already have one, or photographing a large catalog properly. Starting with a smaller first batch of products, as mentioned above, keeps this step from becoming the reason launch gets delayed.

Step 6: Share your shop link

Once your shop is live, you get a shop link you can share on WhatsApp, Instagram, or Facebook. Most small shops in Kenya already have an audience on social media or in a WhatsApp group. The shop link gives that audience a proper place to browse and order from, instead of scrolling through old chat messages to find a product photo.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Listing too many products at once before launch. A smaller, well-photographed catalog of your best sellers tends to convert better than a large list with rushed photos. You can always add more once the shop is live.
• Leaving out prices. Customers browsing on a phone rarely message to ask for a price if it is missing. List it upfront, even if it is a starting price for made-to-order items.
• Forgetting to check the shop link on a phone before sharing it. Almost all of your customers will open it on a phone, not a computer, so it is worth checking how it looks on your own phone first.

What happens after you launch

From here, running the shop is mostly about keeping your product list current and responding to orders as they come in. If you are still weighing whether the cost makes sense for your business, our post on what an online shop really costs in Kenya breaks down the numbers plan by plan.

Ready to get started? Send your business details and choose a plan on our pricing page.