GiftPesa
GiftPesa is a Kenyan digital voucher marketplace that enables businesses and individuals to send, disburse, and partially redeem e-vouchers via SMS at 3,000+ merchant outlets across Kenya, with integrated USSD, M-Pesa, and REST API access for corporate employee rewards, customer loyalty, and bulk disbursement programs.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersNairobi, Kenya
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What GiftPesa does
GiftPesa, operated by Kenyan private limited company Giftchain Africa, is a digital voucher marketplace and corporate rewards platform founded in 2018 and headquartered in Nairobi. The platform enables businesses and individuals to create, buy, send, disburse, and partially redeem digital gift vouchers delivered instantly to recipients via SMS, with redemption possible at over 3,000 merchant outlets across Kenya spanning supermarkets, fuel stations, restaurants, pharmacies, and retail chains. The product portfolio includes a core web platform, a mobile app, a USSD short-code service (*483*18#), M-Pesa Mini App integration, and a documented REST API for programmatic disbursement and redemption workflows; specialized modules address employee rewards, customer rewards, and loyalty program use cases. Core differentiators are no-expiry vouchers, partial redemption flexibility, bulk disbursement with personalized SMS, real-time redemption tracking, and a 12-month auto-refund of unused balances to the sender wallet.
GiftPesa earns revenue through transaction fees on voucher disbursements and redemptions, supplemented by subscription or usage-based fees for corporate accounts accessing bulk disbursement, dashboard analytics, and redemption tracking; specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market combines a self-serve product-led motion (USSD, mobile app, web) for individuals and SMBs with an enterprise field-sales motion targeting Kenyan corporates through a "Book Demo" funnel, alongside an API-first distribution channel for developer and B2B integration partners. Named enterprise customers span banking (Ecobank, Prime Bank), insurance (AAR, Jubilee Life, CIC, Fidelity), energy (Vivo Energy), telecommunications (Safaricom), healthcare (GE Healthcare), retail (Quickmart, MOGO Auto), and manufacturing, with M-Pesa/Safaricom serving as the core payment and distribution partner.
The company is led by CEO Pamela Muriuki, a data scientist with prior business analysis experience in retail, and COO Michael Muthui, who holds a computer science background and focuses on sales operations and customer service. The firm was recognized among Kenya's top ten innovations for 2022 by the Ministry of ICT and is a graduate of the Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubation Program (2020) and Angel Fair Africa (2020); it remains privately held with no disclosed equity funding rounds or revenue figures.
GiftPesa firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GiftPesa
- Legal name
- Giftchain Africa
- Website
- https://giftpesa.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- GiftPesa is a Kenyan digital voucher marketplace that enables businesses and individuals to send, disburse, and partially redeem e-vouchers via SMS at 3,000+ merchant outlets across Kenya, with integrated USSD, M-Pesa, and REST API access for corporate employee rewards, customer loyalty, and bulk disbursement programs.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GiftPesa industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Voucher Platform
- akta.pro primary industry
- Rewards, Incentives & Gift Card Program Services (MPAAAIAG)
Keywords
Where GiftPesa is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nairobi
- HQ country
- Kenya
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
GiftPesa business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Voucher Transaction Fees: Platform fees charged on voucher disbursements and redemptions. Businesses pay to disburse vouchers and may charge a take rate on redemption value.
- B2B Platform Services: Subscription or usage-based fees for corporate accounts accessing bulk disbursement, dashboard analytics, and redemption tracking features
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
GiftPesa product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GiftPesa is a Kenyan fintech digital voucher platform that enables businesses and individuals to create, buy, send, disburse, and redeem e-vouchers instantly via SMS. Vouchers never expire, can be partially redeemed, and are accepted at over 3,000 outlets in Kenya spanning supermarkets, restaurants, fuelling stations, and other retail categories. The platform serves corporate employee rewards, customer loyalty, and bulk disbursement use cases via web app, USSD, M-Pesa, mobile app, and REST API.
Product overview
GiftPesa is an award-winning Kenyan fintech platform that provides a digital voucher gifting solution. The core platform enables businesses and individuals to create, buy, send, disburse, and redeem digital gift vouchers. The product portfolio includes the core GiftPesa Digital Voucher Platform, three specialized reward solutions (Employee Rewards, Customer Rewards, and Loyalty Rewards), the GiftPesa Marketplace with 3,000+ merchant outlets, the GiftPesa API for developer integrations, and a USSD mobile service (*483*18#). The platform differentiates through features like no expiry on vouchers, partial redemption capability, bulk disbursement to multiple recipients, real-time redemption tracking, and refund of unused vouchers after 12 months.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- GiftPesa Digital Voucher Platform Core platform enabling businesses and individuals to create, buy, send, disburse, and redeem digital gift vouchers. Vouchers are delivered via SMS, do not expire, allow partial redemption, and can be used at over 3,000 merchant outlets across Kenya.
- Employee Rewards Solution Solution for businesses to reward employees for outstanding performance, milestones, and engagement, with bulk disbursement, personalized SMS, and redemption tracking for HR and people teams.
- Customer Rewards Solution Solution enabling businesses to appreciate customers for new and repeat business and turn them into brand advocates through digital voucher rewards distributed at scale.
- Loyalty Rewards Solution Integration solution that enhances existing loyalty programs by adding digital voucher rewards to the redemption catalog, making loyalty programs more attractive to customers.
- GiftPesa REST API REST API enabling developers and businesses to programmatically create disbursements to multiple recipients, query disbursement status, query merchants, and process voucher redemptions. Uses Bearer token authentication (30-minute access tokens) and supports webhook callbacks for real-time disbursement and redemption notifications.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 3,000 merchant outlets for voucher redemption
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use GiftPesa
Customer profileNamed customers18 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
GiftPesa technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature8 records
GiftPesa partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- QuickmartcoreQuickmart partnered with GiftPesa for their 18th anniversary Christmas campaign. GiftPesa digital vouchers were used as rewards and incentives for the celebration, with GiftPesa launching digital voucher branding at Quickmart supermarkets.
- M-Pesa (Safaricom)coreM-Pesa is used as the payment processor for customer payments on the GiftPesa platform. GiftPesa vouchers can also be redeemed via M-Pesa Mini App integration.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
GiftPesa competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Reward Gateway: Employee engagement and rewards platform focused on recognition, benefits, and wellbeing for enterprise HR teams. Directly comparable to GiftPesa's Employee Rewards and Loyalty Rewards modules, with deeper HRIS integrations.
- Giftbit: Canada-based digital gift card distribution platform enabling businesses to send branded e-gift cards at scale via API and dashboard. Closely comparable to GiftPesa on the API-first developer surface and bulk B2B disbursement model.
- Snappy: Corporate gifting and rewards platform enabling businesses to send curated gifts and gift cards to employees and customers. Directly comparable to GiftPesa's customer/employee rewards use cases with a stronger consumer-gift UX.
- Tango Card: US-headquartered B2B digital gift card and rewards platform that lets businesses send incentives redeemable across a global merchant catalog. Directly comparable to GiftPesa in product mechanics (digital voucher disbursement, bulk send, redemption network) and target buyer (corporate HR, marketing, and loyalty teams).
- Tremendous: Digital rewards and incentives platform serving businesses globally with prepaid cards, gift cards, and payouts. Directly comparable to GiftPesa in delivering bulk corporate disbursements with partial redemption and merchant choice.
- Xoxoday: Rewards, recognition, and incentive platform headquartered in India with emerging-markets reach across APAC, MENA, and Africa. Directly comparable in product surface (vouchers, gift cards, employee/customer rewards) and target segments, with comparable emerging-market GTM.
Broad incumbents
- Givex: Global gift card, loyalty, and stored value technology provider serving retail and hospitality chains. Overlaps with GiftPesa in stored-value and loyalty program infrastructure but addresses large retail enterprises globally rather than SMBs in East Africa.
- Blackhawk Network: Global prepaid and gift card network operating across multiple continents with a much larger merchant and distribution footprint. A broader incumbent in the same gift card / stored value category as GiftPesa, but with a global rather than Kenyan-only footprint.
- Pluxee: Employee benefits and engagement platform spun out of Sodexo, offering vouchers, gift cards, and employee rewards across multiple geographies including Africa. Comparable in the B2B employee rewards and voucher category but as a much larger global incumbent.
- InComm Payments: Global prepaid products and payment technology company offering gift card programs across thousands of retailers. Comparable in the underlying prepaid/voucher payment infrastructure category but with a global retail focus rather than an African B2B rewards focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
GiftPesa social profiles
Digital presenceGiftPesa financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GiftPesa leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
GiftPesa funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GiftPesa 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 GiftPesa
What does GiftPesa do?
GiftPesa is a Kenyan fintech digital voucher platform that enables businesses and individuals to create, buy, send, disburse, and redeem e-vouchers instantly via SMS. Vouchers never expire, can be partially redeemed, and are accepted at over 3,000 outlets in Kenya spanning supermarkets, restaurants, fuelling stations, and other retail categories. The platform serves corporate employee rewards, customer loyalty, and bulk disbursement use cases via web app, USSD, M-Pesa, mobile app, and REST API.
Is GiftPesa a public or private company?
GiftPesa is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was GiftPesa founded?
GiftPesa was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is GiftPesa based?
GiftPesa is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, in the Africa region.
How does GiftPesa make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Voucher Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are B2B Platform Services.
Who are GiftPesa's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Reward Gateway, Giftbit, Snappy, Tango Card, Tremendous and Xoxoday. Broad incumbents are Givex, Blackhawk Network, Pluxee and InComm Payments.
Does GiftPesa have an API?
Yes. The GiftPesa API allows developers to automate reward processes including disbursements, merchant queries, and redemption tracking. Developers can create disbursements to multiple recipients, query disbursement status, and process redemptions at partner merchants. The API uses Bearer token authentication with access tokens valid for 30 minutes, supports callback webhooks for disbursement and redemption notifications, and provides real-time tracking of voucher redemption status. Developer documentation is at docs.giftpesa.com.
What industry is GiftPesa in?
GiftPesa's product category is Digital Voucher Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAIAG, Rewards, Incentives & Gift Card Program Services.