Arkesel
Arkesel is a Ghana-based multi-channel customer communication platform serving 10,000+ African businesses across Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa with bulk SMS, voice, USSD, email, WhatsApp, and OTP services delivered via REST APIs, direct carrier integrations, and AI-powered analytics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersAccra, Ghana
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Arkesel does
Arkesel is a privately held, Ghana-based multi-channel customer communication platform serving African businesses with bulk SMS, voice messaging, USSD, email marketing, phone number verification (OTP), and WhatsApp Business API. Founded by Godwin Amefia and operating as Arkesel Company Limited, the company is headquartered in Accra and reports 11–50 employees serving 10,000+ businesses across Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Its technology foundation is a REST API platform with webhooks, sandbox testing, and SDKs in Python, JavaScript, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, Go, and cURL, built on direct carrier integrations with MTN, Telecel, AirtelTigo, Vodacom, Cell C, and Telkom. The platform claims average SMS delivery under three seconds and USSD session responses under two seconds, with USSD working on all phones without internet access.
The company's commercial model combines usage-based pricing (per-SMS credit, per-minute voice, per-OTP delivery) with recurring subscriptions for USSD shortcodes (GHS 300–900/month) and tiered email marketing (free through GHS 150/month). Distribution is product-led via self-serve signup at account.arkesel.com with instant API key access, complemented by inside-sales motions for purchases above country-specific thresholds and enterprise custom pricing. A wholesale A2P SMS program targets aggregators and resellers. Additional offerings include KOVA IQ (AI-powered sentiment analysis and churn prediction), Arkesel Voice Connect (cloud contact centre with AI voice agents), and CRM integrations with HubSpot, Zoho, and Salesforce. The company holds ISO 27001 certification and maintains GDPR, POPIA, and NDPA compliance posture. Arkesel appears bootstrapped, with no disclosed institutional funding rounds.
Arkesel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Arkesel
- Legal name
- Arkesel Company Limited
- Website
- https://arkesel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Arkesel is a Ghana-based multi-channel customer communication platform serving 10,000+ African businesses across Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa with bulk SMS, voice, USSD, email, WhatsApp, and OTP services delivered via REST APIs, direct carrier integrations, and AI-powered analytics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Arkesel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Accra
- HQ country
- Ghana
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices1 record
Markets served
Arkesel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- SMS Messaging: Usage-based pricing per SMS credit purchased. Higher purchase volumes yield lower cost per SMS. Credits can be purchased with or without expiry dates. Pricing varies by country (Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Nigeria).
- Voice Messaging: Per-minute billing for voice calls. Billed per second for answered calls only. Ghana pricing at GHS 0.15 per minute.
- USSD Services: Monthly subscription pricing for USSD shortcode access. Shared codes (1-3 digit extensions) priced at GHS 300-900 per month. Dedicated shortcodes available for enterprise customers.
- Email Marketing: Monthly subscription tiers: Free (up to 1,000 subscribers, 5,000 emails/month), Basic GHS 70 (2,500 subscribers, 25,000 emails), Pro GHS 150 (7,000 subscribers, 70,000 emails).
- OTP Verification: Usage-based pricing per OTP delivery. GHS 0.035 for SMS/USSD delivery, GHS 0.20 per minute for voice OTP.
- Wholesale A2P SMS: Wholesale SMS service for aggregators, SMS providers, and resellers. Direct gateway access for high-volume sending with optimized routes and real-time management.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Ghana SMS - With Expiry (3 months) |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Ghana SMS - No Expiry |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Ghana Voice Messaging |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Ghana OTP Pricing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ghana USSD Pricing |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ghana Email Marketing |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Kenya SMS Pricing |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | South Africa SMS Pricing |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Tanzania SMS Pricing |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Nigeria SMS Pricing |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Arkesel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Arkesel is a multi-channel customer communication platform that enables African businesses to send and receive Bulk SMS, Voice SMS, USSD, Email, WhatsApp Business, and OTP verification messages through a self-serve dashboard and developer-friendly REST APIs. The service is billed via pay-as-you-go SMS credits, per-minute voice usage, and monthly USSD and email subscriptions, with direct carrier connections across Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya.
Product overview
Arkesel is a multi-channel customer communication platform offering a unified suite of messaging services for African businesses. The core platform comprises Bulk SMS, Voice SMS, Email Marketing, USSD, Phone Verification (OTP), and WhatsApp Business API. Developer access is enabled through REST APIs for all channels. Additional offerings include KOVA IQ (AI-powered analytics and sentiment analysis), Arkesel Voice Connect (cloud contact centre), and a Wholesale A2P SMS program for resellers and aggregators. The platform covers Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya with direct carrier connections.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- KOVA IQ: AI-powered analytics dashboard for customer sentiment analysis across WhatsApp, SMS, voice, and other channels.
- VoiceConnect
- Arkesel Voice Connect
Products and services
- Bulk SMS Platform for sending bulk SMS messages to large contact lists worldwide, featuring custom sender IDs, personalized messages, scheduled sending, delivery reports, and AI message generation. Targeted at businesses needing high-volume transactional or marketing SMS.
- Voice SMS Service for delivering pre-recorded voice messages to audiences in their preferred language, with text-to-speech and audio upload capabilities, call scheduling, and retry on no-answer functionality. Billed per second for answered calls only.
- Email Marketing Email platform for creating and sending personalized email campaigns with customizable templates, subscriber management, campaign analytics, and automation workflows. Offered on Free (up to 1,000 subscribers), Basic, and Pro tiers with monthly pricing.
- USSD USSD API service for building interactive mobile menus that run on all phones without internet, supporting multi-level navigation, session management, webhook callbacks, and real-time responses under 2 seconds. Priced monthly per shortcode extension.
- Phone Number Verification (OTP) OTP API service for verifying user identities and protecting transactions, supporting SMS, USSD, and voice delivery channels with configurable expiry and rate limiting. Usage-based pricing per delivery.
- WhatsApp Business API WhatsApp Business API integration for sending and receiving messages at scale, including template messaging, multi-agent inboxes, AI chatbot support, and CRM connectors to HubSpot, Zoho, and Salesforce.
- Developer APIs REST API platform exposing SMS, USSD, Voice, and OTP endpoints for developers, with sandbox testing, multiple API keys, webhook support, and SDKs in Python, Node.js, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, and Go.
- Wholesale A2P SMS Wholesale SMS service designed for aggregators, SMS providers, and resellers, offering high-volume messaging with direct gateway access, optimized routes, and competitive rates.
- Arkesel Voice Connect Cloud contact centre solution for managing inbound and outbound customer calls via browser, featuring IVR, call routing, recording, reporting, and AI voice agent support without on-premise hardware.
- KOVA IQ AI-powered customer intelligence platform that analyzes sentiment across WhatsApp, SMS, voice, and USSD channels, providing real-time analytics, unified messaging inbox, conversation analytics, customer journey mapping, and churn prediction.
Quantifiable outcome
- 98% SMS open rate
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Arkesel
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments10 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Arkesel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability9 records
Feature6 records
Arkesel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Arkesel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- BulkSMS Nigeria: BulkSMS Nigeria is a Nigerian-focused bulk SMS and messaging provider serving West African SMEs and enterprises. It is a regional peer directly comparable to Arkesel's bulk SMS, OTP, and developer API services in the Nigerian market.
- SMSPortal: SMSPortal is a South African bulk SMS provider offering business messaging, OTP, and WhatsApp solutions primarily across Southern Africa. It is a regional player comparable to Arkesel's SMS, OTP, and enterprise communication offerings in the South African market.
Direct peers
- Africa's Talking: Africa's Talking is the leading African CPaaS platform headquartered in Nairobi, offering SMS, USSD, voice, airtime, and developer APIs across multiple African countries. It is the most direct comparable to Arkesel in terms of multi-channel communication APIs, African carrier coverage, and developer-first positioning.
- Termii: Termii is a Nigerian CPaaS provider offering SMS, voice, OTP, and WhatsApp Business APIs across West Africa. It directly competes with Arkesel in Nigeria on messaging APIs, OTP verification, and developer onboarding, particularly for fintech and SME customers.
Broad incumbents
- Infobip: Infobip is a global CPaaS platform with extensive African carrier coverage and a broad product portfolio including SMS, voice, email, WhatsApp, and customer engagement tools. It competes with Arkesel across enterprise and wholesale A2P messaging segments in Africa.
- Plivo: Plivo is a cloud communications platform offering SMS, voice, and OTT APIs to businesses globally. It is comparable to Arkesel on core CPaaS capabilities and competes for developers and enterprises integrating messaging into applications.
- Sinch: Sinch is a Sweden-based global CPaaS provider offering SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and conversational AI APIs with significant carrier relationships across emerging markets. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Arkesel's messaging and verification products.
- MessageBird (Bird): MessageBird, now operating as Bird, is a global CPaaS provider headquartered in Amsterdam offering SMS, voice, WhatsApp, and email APIs. It is comparable to Arkesel on multi-channel messaging APIs and serves a similar SMB and enterprise customer base.
- Vonage (Ericsson): Vonage, now part of Ericsson, is a global cloud communications provider offering SMS, voice, video, and verification APIs. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Arkesel on programmable communications APIs, particularly for enterprise customers seeking CPaaS solutions.
- Twilio: Twilio is the global public CPaaS leader offering SMS, voice, email, video, and WhatsApp APIs. It is a broad incumbent that overlaps with Arkesel's core SMS, OTP, and developer API offerings and has been expanding its African footprint, particularly for enterprise customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Arkesel social profiles
Digital presenceArkesel compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Arkesel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Arkesel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Arkesel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Arkesel 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 Arkesel
What does Arkesel do?
Arkesel is a multi-channel customer communication platform that enables African businesses to send and receive Bulk SMS, Voice SMS, USSD, Email, WhatsApp Business, and OTP verification messages through a self-serve dashboard and developer-friendly REST APIs. The service is billed via pay-as-you-go SMS credits, per-minute voice usage, and monthly USSD and email subscriptions, with direct carrier connections across Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya.
Is Arkesel a public or private company?
Arkesel is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Arkesel founded?
Arkesel was founded in -1. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Arkesel based?
Arkesel is headquartered in Accra, Ghana, in the Africa region.
How does Arkesel make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. SMS Messaging is the primary driver. The others are voice Messaging, USSD Services, email Marketing, OTP Verification and wholesale A2P SMS.
Who are Arkesel's main competitors?
Regional players on record are BulkSMS Nigeria and SMSPortal. Direct peers are Africa's Talking and Termii. Broad incumbents are Infobip, Plivo, Sinch, MessageBird (Bird), Vonage (Ericsson) and Twilio.
Does Arkesel have an API?
Yes. REST API for SMS, USSD, Voice, and OTP messaging. Features include: bulk and single message sending, delivery status webhooks, custom sender IDs, scheduled messaging, contact group management, and template messages. Supports API key authentication, multiple API keys per environment, and sandbox testing. Documentation available at developers.arkesel.com with code samples in cURL, Python, Node.js, PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, and Go. Developer documentation is at developers.arkesel.com.