For many small businesses, the customer journey already begins in a chat. A buyer asks for a price on WhatsApp, places an order in the same conversation and then works out how to pay. Harare-based ChatCash is building tools to make that informal workflow function more like a shop.

Founded in 2023, the startup gives businesses ways to manage catalogues, invoices, orders and customer relationships from messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Rather than asking merchants to move customers into a separate app, ChatCash is trying to bring basic commerce infrastructure to the channels where those customers already spend time.

Local language and local payment rails

The company’s proposition is shaped by Zimbabwe’s everyday mix of cash, mobile money and social selling. In a September 2025 profile, TechCabal reported that ChatCash was connecting merchants with services including EcoCash, InnBucks, Visa and Mastercard through its platform. Its conversational tools also support Shona and Ndebele, an attempt to make digital selling feel more natural to local customers.

That local fit matters because software designed for formal e-commerce does not always map neatly onto informal and micro-business trading. A merchant may need a simple product list, a way to track an order and a clear payment instruction more than a full online store. ChatCash’s bet is that reducing the friction between those steps can help businesses turn chats into repeatable sales.

Growth depends on trust and compliance

Fintech is a regulated business, and a chat-based interface does not remove the need for safe payment handling. TechCabal reported that ChatCash was working through partnerships with licensed providers while navigating Zimbabwe’s regulatory requirements. The company also described plans to expand beyond Zimbabwe, but regional growth will depend on building compliant payment connections in each market.

ChatCash’s approach is part of a wider shift toward conversational commerce: bringing discovery, customer service and transactions into messaging apps. The opportunity is clear, but the test will be whether merchants keep using the tools after onboarding and whether the platform can make payments reliable across different providers.

Source: TechCabal’s profile of ChatCash.