Kenyan fintech startup Lipana is a cloud-based accounting and bookkeeping application for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Founded by Shadrack Apollo, Hassan Kombo and Wyclif Okwiri in January 2021, but only launched a year later, Lipana enables businesses to send and receive payments through digital invoices that are payable via M-Pesa, the dominant mobile money service in Kenya.
The startup also allows businesses to record their expenses and sales, and send receipts and estimates, using just their mobile phone and a browser. It is also currently developing a checkout product for small businesses.
“We saw a need for a cheaper easier to use bookkeeping solution since the existing players include Sage and Quickbooks, which are usually too complicated and expensive for the small business owner to use. Lipana solves this by being the easiest bookkeeping application for small businesses in Kenya,” Apollo told Disrupt Africa.
Bootstrapped from the beginning, Lipana is already generating revenue from paying customers.
“Uptake has been very positive, especially in Kenya with hundreds of companies already using our product locally,” said Apollo. “We have been growing consistently month-over-month since our launch in January.”
