Kowri
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersAccra, Ghana
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
Kowri firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kowri
- Legal name
- SEVN Ghana Ltd
- Website
- https://kowri.app
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Kowri is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Accra
- HQ country
- Ghana
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Kowri business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees: Transparent transaction fees charged on money transfers, bill payments, and merchant transactions. Rates vary by destination and payment method.
- Financial Service Commissions: Commissions earned from credit products, insurance offerings, and investment products offered through the platform.
- Technology Licensing: B2B revenue streams through technology licensing and white-label partnerships with banks and other fintechs.
- Currency Conversion Fees: Foreign exchange fees on currency conversions with wholesale exchange rates plus a percentage markup.
- Healthcare Working Capital Lending: Revenue from lending working capital to healthcare facilities based on their transaction history through MCF partnership.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-per-transaction model with no monthly fee |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Pay-as-you-go | Healthcare working capital financing GHS 5,000 to GHS 500,000 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Kowri product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kowri is a mobile-first financial super-app that enables individuals to send money, pay bills, save, access credit and insurance, and enables merchants to accept payments via mobile money, cards, bank transfers, USSD, QR, and mPOS. It also offers working-capital financing, free merchant insurance (Kowri Protect), and a Merchant REST API for businesses to integrate payment checkout.
Product overview
Kowri is a unified financial super-app platform combining multiple financial services into a single mobile application. The core product portfolio consists of Kowri Personal (consumer app for money transfers, bill payments, airtime, credit, savings, and insurance) and Kowri Business (merchant payment acceptance platform with mPOS, QR codes, payment links, and USSD). Supporting modules include Kowri Protect (free merchant insurance), Kowri Revenue-Based Financing (working capital based on transaction history), Kowri Analytics & Reports (transaction tracking), Kowri Merchant API (developer integration), and Kowri Voice Commands (accessibility feature for voice-activated transactions). The platform operates across Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Namibia, serving over 100,000 users with 1M+ transactions processed.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Kowri Personal A mobile financial companion app for individuals providing instant money transfers, bill payments, airtime purchases, microloans, savings, investments, and insurance products in a single unified platform.
- Kowri Business A comprehensive merchant payment platform that enables businesses to accept mobile money, cards, bank transfers, USSD, and QR codes through a single dashboard with instant settlement within 24-48 hours.
- Kowri Merchant API A well-documented REST API that enables businesses with existing websites or applications to integrate Kowri payment checkout seamlessly into their e-commerce platforms.
- Kowri mPOS A mobile point-of-sale solution that turns any smartphone into a POS terminal, accepting card and mobile money payments via the Kowri app or Kdrop BLE Bluetooth readers.
- Kowri Protect Free embedded insurance coverage for Kowri merchants that protects business assets against fire, floods, theft, and burglary at no additional cost.
- Kowri Payment Links Instant payment links for businesses that can be shared via WhatsApp, SMS, or email to receive payments from customers using any supported payment method.
- Kowri Revenue-Based Financing Working capital financing for businesses based on sales history through Kowri, with a healthcare-exclusive option via the MCF partnership offering borrowing limits from GHS 5,000 to GHS 500,000.
- Kowri Pay with Voice Voice-activated transaction feature allowing users to perform financial operations by speaking commands in English or local African languages including Twi and Hausa.
- Kowri USSD Offline payment capability via USSD code that works on any phone without internet or a smartphone, enabling basic transactions including payments and transfers via dial codes.
- Kowri Scan to Pay QR code-based payment system that replaces the need to type phone numbers for payments, allowing instant payments via scan action.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100,000+ users acquired in 2 years since 2023 launch
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Kowri
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Kowri technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration9 records
AI capability7 records
Feature8 records
Kowri partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, case study and market entry.
- VeloPayflagshipAnchor partner across SADC region, pairing Kowri's consumer wallet, SME acquiring (mPOS/QR/USSD), developer APIs, savings & credit, and embedded protection with local execution to advance financial accessibility in Southern Africa.
- Medical Credit Fund (MCF)coreDigital lending platform for healthcare facilities enabling access to working capital based on transaction data collected through Kowri's platform. Loans processed based on clinic and pharmacy payment activity without accessing patient data.
- ToutoncoreDigitizing the cocoa value chain by enabling verified farmer payouts, purchasing-clerk float management, season-long reconciliation, and traceability, with pathways to savings and micro-insurance for producers.
- Stanbic Bank ZimbabwecoreEmbedding Kowri's collections, payouts, merchant onboarding, and analytics into Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe's SME stack to accelerate formalization, enable rapid settlement, and deliver bank-grade reconciliation.
- Bank Hospitalcase studyDigitized entire financial workflow including patient payments, pharmacy transactions, automated billing, and consolidated financial reporting. Improved operational efficiency and patient satisfaction.
- Namibia Strategic Partnermarket entryStrategic partnership marking Kowri's first step into Southern African market through Namibia, bringing inclusive finance to more Africans.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Kowri competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flutterwave: Pan-African payments infrastructure offering merchant APIs, payment links, and mobile money collections across multiple African countries. Directly comparable to Kowri's merchant acquiring, multi-payment-method acceptance, and developer API strategy.
- Paystack: Nigerian payment gateway (acquired by Stripe) providing online checkout APIs, merchant dashboards, and multi-payment-method acceptance for African businesses. Highly comparable to Kowri Business and the Kowri Merchant API product.
- Wave: African mobile money super-app offering low-cost P2P transfers, bill pay, and merchant payments via USSD and app across Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Burkina Faso, The Gambia, and Uganda. Closest comparable to Kowri's consumer wallet and cross-border money transfer proposition.
- Chipper Cash: African cross-border payments and remittances platform serving consumers and businesses across multiple African markets. Comparable to Kowri's P2P transfers, currency conversion, and merchant payment offerings.
- OPay: Nigeria-headquartered super-app combining payments, lending, and merchant services across emerging markets, with mobile money, mPOS, and consumer credit offerings. Highly comparable to Kowri's super-app architecture spanning payments, credit, and merchant tools.
- Interswitch: Pan-African digital payments company providing payment processing, card issuance, and merchant acquiring across Nigeria and broader Africa. Comparable to Kowri's payment processing, merchant acquiring, and bank-embedding capabilities.
- Moniepoint: Nigerian merchant payments and banking platform serving SMBs with POS terminals, payment acceptance, and working capital. Comparable to Kowri Business, mPOS solutions, and revenue-based financing for merchants.
- Paga: Nigerian mobile payments pioneer offering consumer wallets, merchant acquiring, and bill payments with developer APIs. Closely comparable to Kowri's multi-channel consumer/merchant platform model in the West African context.
Broad incumbents
- MTN MoMo: MTN Group's mobile money platform with tens of millions of active wallets across 16 African markets, including Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire where Kowri operates. Represents the dominant incumbent Kowri competes against for consumer payments and merchant acquiring.
- M-Pesa: Vodafone/Safaricom's pioneering mobile money platform, the largest African fintech by users, expanding into Ghana and other markets. Comparable incumbent benchmark for the consumer wallet and merchant payment proposition Kowri is building.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Customer concentration
Kowri social profiles
Digital presenceKowri financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kowri leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles11 records
Kowri funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kowri M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kowri
What does Kowri do?
Kowri is a mobile-first financial super-app that enables individuals to send money, pay bills, save, access credit and insurance, and enables merchants to accept payments via mobile money, cards, bank transfers, USSD, QR, and mPOS. It also offers working-capital financing, free merchant insurance (Kowri Protect), and a Merchant REST API for businesses to integrate payment checkout.
Is Kowri a public or private company?
Kowri is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Kowri founded?
Kowri was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kowri based?
Kowri is headquartered in Accra, Ghana, in the Africa region.
How does Kowri make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are financial Service Commissions, technology Licensing, currency Conversion Fees and healthcare Working Capital Lending.
Who are Kowri's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flutterwave, Paystack, Wave, Chipper Cash, OPay, Interswitch, Moniepoint and Paga. Broad incumbents are MTN MoMo and M-Pesa.
Does Kowri have an API?
Yes. Kowri offers a Merchant API that allows businesses to integrate payment checkout into their e-commerce websites or applications. The API is described as well-documented with REST architecture, secure authentication, easy integration, code samples and guides, and dedicated developer support. Available at api/docs.html. Developer documentation is at www.kowri.app/api/docs.html.