The startup, which has established its regional operating base at Norrsken House in Kigali, will travel to San Francisco and London in October to participate in the FINCA Ventures Final Celebrations and Pitch Event, where it will compete alongside other leading African startups developing solutions to expand financial inclusion.

Launched in 2023, ChatCash has developed APOMA, an artificial intelligence-powered conversational operating system that enables businesses to create fully automated digital storefronts within messaging applications such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook.

Instead of directing customers to external websites, the platform allows users to browse products, ask questions, negotiate prices and complete purchases without leaving the chat conversation. Merchants can also manage inventory, process payments and track sales from the same interface.

"Our platform turns WhatsApp into a fully automated digital storefront in six minutes," John Sakala, the startup CEO, told IGIHE. "Customers can browse, negotiate and pay securely without ever leaving the chat thread."

The recognition by FINCA Ventures comes as the startup accelerates plans to grow from Rwanda into other African markets.

Launched in 2024, the FINCA Ventures Financial Inclusion Prize supports early-stage African startups developing scalable technologies that improve access to financial services for underserved communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. The competition offers equity-free grant funding of up to $100,000 per category, alongside technical assistance and access to international investors.

This year's finalists were selected through a competitive process that evaluated startups on innovation, commercial viability and their potential to drive financial inclusion.

Rwanda as regional launchpad

Sakala says choosing Kigali as ChatCash regional headquarters aligns with Rwanda's ambition to become a leading financial technology hub through the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC).

The company is currently working with the National Bank of Rwanda on licensing and sandbox integrations that would enable its payment infrastructure to connect directly with mobile money operators, commercial banks and Rwanda's national payment switch, RSwitch.

It is also pursuing partnerships with local banks and fintech companies, including DDIN, to accelerate adoption of its conversational commerce platform.

According to the company, nearly 3,900 merchants in Rwanda have already joined its waiting list ahead of the commercial rollout.

"We've established our regional headquarters in Kigali because we believe Rwanda offers the right regulatory environment and innovation ecosystem to scale financial technology across Africa," Sakala said.

Bringing informal businesses into the digital economy

ChatCash argues that its platform addresses one of Africa's biggest barriers to digital commerce by allowing businesses to operate entirely through messaging platforms that many merchants already use daily.

Rather than requiring websites, expensive hardware or specialised e-commerce software, businesses can create AI-powered storefronts through simple instructions while customers complete purchases inside familiar chat applications.

The company says this approach is particularly relevant for small and informal businesses that often rely on low-cost smartphones and social messaging to communicate with customers.

By digitising transactions and automatically recording sales, ChatCash believes merchants can build verifiable transaction histories that may improve their ability to access formal financial services, including bank credit.

"Our goal is to help businesses move from informal cash transactions into the formal financial ecosystem without changing how they already interact with customers," Sakala said.

Expanding from Kigali base 

As ChatCash scales across Africa, Rwanda serves as its regional headquarters and strategic launchpad for growth. From its Kigali base, the startup plans to expand into Ghana and Nigeria, where it says more than 100,000 small and medium-sized enterprises have already expressed interest through strategic partnerships.

The company also aims to facilitate seamless cross-border payments by leveraging its planned licensing in Rwanda alongside partnerships with regional payment providers such as Onafriq.

According to Sakala, the long-term vision is to enable users in different African countries to send and receive payments natively within a single chat conversation, eliminating many of the complexities associated with cross-border transactions.

He described the FINCA Ventures recognition as an important validation of both the company's technology and Rwanda's growing position as a hub for fintech innovation.

"Being selected among the top global fintech finalists is a huge validation," he said. "It shows that startups building from Rwanda can create globally competitive technology, and the exposure we'll gain in San Francisco and London will help us scale conversational commerce across Africa."

The FINCA Ventures recognition adds to a series of milestones that have elevated ChatCash's profile within the global fintech ecosystem. The startup was previously selected for the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, gaining access to mentorship, product development support and Visa's global investor network. It has also joined the Microsoft Azure AI Cloud Partner Program, giving it access to enterprise-grade artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure to scale its APOMA platform.

Earlier this year, the company showcased its technology at The Pitch Dubai and has secured partnerships and support from organisations including Bitrix24, ZB Bank Innovation Hub, Darena Ventures, and the US-Africa Trade Commission as it prepares for broader expansion across the continent.