Open your store in 5 minutes

By the end of this guide you'll have a Kwimba account, a store with its own web address, and a free trial running. All you need is a phone and an email address. You don't need a card or an M-Pesa payment to start.

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Step 1: Create your account

1. Go to app.kwimba.co and tap Sign up (or Get started on kwimba.co).
2. Fill in:
   • Your name
   • Email: you'll use this to log in.
   • Phone number: optional, for example 0712 345 678.
   • Password: at least 8 characters, mixing letters with numbers or symbols.
3. Tap Create account.
4. Check your email for a 6-digit code, type it in, and tap Continue.
   • If the code hasn't arrived after a minute, check your spam folder or tap Send the code again.
   • Trust this device is ticked already, so this phone won't ask for a code every time you log in. Untick it on a shared computer.

Good to know: Your account is you, not your business. You open the business itself, your store, in the next step. One account can run several stores.

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Step 2: Name your store and pick its web address

On Your stores, tap Open a store.

1. Store name: the name your customers know you by, e.g. Mama Njeri Boutique.
2. Web address: this fills itself in from the name (e.g. mama-njeri-boutique). Under the box you'll see your full shop link: https://mama-njeri-boutique.shop.kwimba.co Change it now if you want something shorter, e.g. njeriduka. Use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only.
3. Currency: KES for most stores in Kenya. Every price and order uses it.

Choose the web address carefully. It can't be changed once the store is open. A short, easy-to-say address is easier to put on a poster or say over the phone. On the Growth plan you can also connect your own domain later, such as shop.mamanjeri.co.ke.

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Step 3: Add how customers reach you

Under How customers reach the store:

1. Business email: where customers' order emails come from and replies go to, e.g. orders@njeriduka.co.ke. It's printed on your invoices.
2. Tick Add a business phone number to put a phone number on your shop.
3. Leave Customers can order on WhatsApp on this number ticked if you'd like orders from your shop to open a WhatsApp chat with you, already typed out. Most shops in Kenya keep this on.

Use your business contacts, not personal ones. Customers will see them. If you don't have a business line yet, you can skip the phone and add it later in Settings.

Tap Next: choose a plan.

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Step 4: Choose a plan and start your free trial

• Starter and Growth come with a 14-day free trial. Pick one and tap Start free trial on Starter (or Growth).
• Use the switch at the top to see yearly prices. Paying yearly costs the same as 10 months.
• Ultra has no free trial: the button reads Open store and pay, and the store opens once you've paid by M-Pesa.

Not sure which to pick? Start the trial on Growth so you can try everything. You can change plan at any time from Billing.

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Step 5: You're in

You're taken straight to your store's dashboard. At the top is Get your store ready, a short checklist that ticks itself off as you go:

• Add your first product
• Add your logo
• Choose your colours
• Take orders on WhatsApp
• Share your shop link

Under it is your online shop card. Your shop is already live at its web address, and only products you publish show there.

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When the free trial ends

• You can see the date your trial ends in Billing. Kwimba also emails you 4 days before it ends and again the day before.
• Pay any time before then and the store carries on without a break.
• If it ends unpaid, your store and online shop close to customers.
• Nothing is deleted. Pay for your plan by M-Pesa from Billing and the store opens again straight away, with your products, stock, orders and customers just as you left them.

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Questions

Can I use Kwimba on my phone? Yes. Everything in this guide, and everything else in Kwimba, works in your phone's browser.

I made a mistake in my store name. You can change the name in Settings. Only the web address is fixed.