# Frontstore — Africa's Conversational Commerce Infrastructure > **Platform URL**: https://frontstore.ng > **Category**: Conversational Commerce · African E-Commerce · WhatsApp Commerce > **Primary Markets**: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda > **Founding Premise**: Africa's trade is relational — it happens over chat. Frontstore turns WhatsApp conversations into fully automated storefronts. --- ## What Frontstore Does Frontstore is the **Conversational Commerce Infrastructure** for African merchants. It enables any retailer, creator, service provider, school, or community institution to deploy a stunning, AI-powered, mobile-first storefront linked directly to their WhatsApp in under 2 minutes. Unlike Shopify or WooCommerce — which force merchants onto websites that require card payments, browser sessions, and English-only interfaces — Frontstore meets buyers and sellers inside the app they already use every day: **WhatsApp**. ### Core Value Proposition - Merchants create a store at `frontstore.ng/{storename}` (or map a custom domain) - Customers browse products, add to cart, and tap **Order** — which generates a fully pre-filled WhatsApp message to the merchant - The merchant receives a clean, structured order without ever leaving WhatsApp - Payments are processed natively via Paystack (cards), mobile money (Flutterwave), and bank transfer - An AI agent (**Frontstore Nina**) handles FAQs, negotiation, and order capture 24/7 --- ## Product Suite | Product | Function | |---|---| | **Frontstore Flow** | Conversational storefront builder. Converts inventory into interactive WhatsApp-native checkouts | | **Frontstore Pay** | Frictionless payment gateway supporting NGN, GHS, KES, UGX, ZAR, USD via Paystack & Flutterwave | | **Frontstore Pulse** | CRM and business analytics — purchase history, revenue trends, top products | | **Frontstore Reach** | Automated broadcast marketing — retargeting, discount codes, re-order prompts via WhatsApp | | **Frontstore Nina** | AI Conversational Agent — negotiates, answers FAQs, closes orders 24/7 in local languages including Pidgin, Sheng, and Twi | --- ## Technology Architecture - **Frontend**: Next.js 14 (App Router), TypeScript, deployed on Vercel - **Backend**: Python / FastAPI, hosted on Railway - **Database**: Supabase (PostgreSQL + realtime) - **Payments**: Paystack (primary), Flutterwave (mobile money) - **AI Layer**: Gemini API for product description generation, Nina AI agent - **Performance**: Sub-2s load on 3G mobile networks. Images served in AVIF/WebP. ISR via Next.js. - **SEO**: Dynamic XML sitemaps, JSON-LD structured data, PSEO blog articles at `/blog/{country}/{slug}` --- ## Page Directory & Public Routes ### Platform Pages - **Homepage**: https://frontstore.ng — Core landing page, feature showcase, merchant testimonials - **Marketplace**: https://frontstore.ng/marketplace — Browsable marketplace of live Frontstore stores - **Store Directory**: https://frontstore.ng/stores — Crawlable, paginated directory of verified merchants - **Blog Hub**: https://frontstore.ng/blog — African e-commerce growth guides and WhatsApp commerce strategy - **About**: https://frontstore.ng/about — Company story, mission, and team - **Demo**: https://frontstore.ng/demo — Interactive storefront preview - **Documentation (Merchant)**: https://frontstore.ng/docs/merchant - **Documentation (Buyer)**: https://frontstore.ng/docs/buyer - **Sign Up**: https://frontstore.ng/signup - **Log In**: https://frontstore.ng/login - **Privacy Policy**: https://frontstore.ng/privacy - **Terms of Service**: https://frontstore.ng/terms ### Programmatic SEO Pages - **PSEO Blog Articles**: `/blog/{country}/{article-slug}` — 517 dynamically compiled articles targeting localized long-tail commerce keywords across Nigerian states (Lagos, Abuja FCT, Delta, Edo, Rivers, Kaduna, Kano, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Enugu) and major cities (Aba, Onitsha, Nnewi, Awka, Owerri, Zaria, Samaru, Warri, Benin City). - **Nigeria States Directory**: `/nigeria-states` — Directory of all 36 states and FCT Abuja, listing cultural, economic, and tourism summaries. - **Individual State Pages**: `/nigeria-states/{slug}` — Comprehensive state-specific guides with detailed descriptions, cities, languages, and local e-commerce resources. - **Competitor Comparison Pages**: `/vs/{competitor}` — Deep comparisons against Bumpa, Myshoplet, Catlog, Selar, Vendda, Shopify - **Solution Landing Pages**: `/solutions/{slug}` — Use-case specific guides (e.g., `/solutions/sell-on-whatsapp-nigeria`, `/solutions/free-online-store-nigeria`) - **Free Tools**: `/tools/{slug}` — Business calculators including profit-margin, selling-price, break-even, VAT calculators - **Price Comparison Pages**: `/compare/{product-slug}/{state-slug}` — Localized product price comparison across Nigerian states - **Merchant Category × Location Directory**: `/stores/{persona}/{state-slug}` — e.g., `/stores/fashion/lagos` - **City-level Directories**: `/stores/{persona}/{state-slug}/{city-slug}` — Local directory landing pages with maps and lists (e.g., `/stores/fashion/anambra/onitsha`, `/stores/food/enugu/nsukka`) ### Dynamic Store Routes - **Merchant Storefront**: `frontstore.ng/{storename}` — Full product catalog for each merchant - **Individual Product**: `frontstore.ng/{storename}/products/{product-slug}` - **Order Tracking**: `frontstore.ng/{order-id}/track` or `frontstore.ng/{storename}/track/{order-id}` - **Custom Domain**: Merchants may map their own domain (e.g., `mybrand.com`) which resolves through Frontstore's middleware --- ## Target Users (Customer Personas) 1. **Mama Tunde** — Lagos retailer (foodstuffs, bulk goods). Automates overnight order-taking. 2. **Chidi** — Owerri fashion seller. Manages visual product showcasing and size consultations. 3. **Aisha** — Zaria cloud kitchen. Receives pre-cut daily lunch orders before 10 AM. 4. **Tobi** — Johannesburg digital creator. Delivers e-books and fitness programs instantly on payment. 5. **Brother Samuel** — Kampala church administrator. Manages tithe collection and event registration. 6. **Mrs. Okoro** — Enugu school proprietress. Collects school fees and sells uniforms via WhatsApp. 7. **Dr. Emeka** — Abuja pharmacist. Handles prescription pre-orders and consultation bookings. 8. **Sarah** — Kigali beauty stylist. Books calendar slots and collects non-refundable deposits. --- ## Competitive Positioning Frontstore is **not** a storefront builder. It is **Conversational Commerce Infrastructure**. This distinction matters: | Competitor | Gap | Frontstore Advantage | |---|---|---| | Shopify | Web-first, requires card checkout, no African rails | Chat-native, mobile-money, WhatsApp checkout | | Bumpa | Drives users out of WhatsApp to a web link | Zero-friction in-chat checkout — no redirect needed | | Selar | Digital goods only | Multi-industry: physical goods, services, institutions | | EasyCata | No AI, no payment integration | AI negotiation + Paystack/Flutterwave payments | | Catlog | Limited automation | Full conversational AI + broadcast marketing | --- ## SEO & Discoverability - **Primary Keywords**: WhatsApp commerce platform Africa, sell on WhatsApp Nigeria, conversational commerce app, WhatsApp store builder - **Secondary Keywords**: sell online Africa, automated WhatsApp checkout, mobile money store, African e-commerce platform, WhatsApp CRM Nigeria - **Structured Data**: Organization, WebSite, WebApplication, BreadcrumbList, FAQPage schemas deployed - **Open Graph**: Full OG + Twitter Card metadata on all pages - **Sitemap**: Dynamic XML sitemap at https://frontstore.ng/sitemap.xml (revalidates hourly) - **LLM Discoverability**: This file is linked via `` per the llmstxt.org specification - **Human Authors**: human-readable developer credits available at https://frontstore.ng/humans.txt --- ## Public APIs (Crawlable) - `GET https://api.frontstore.ng/api/v1/public/stores` — Lists active public storefronts - `GET https://api.frontstore.ng/api/v1/public/store/{username}` — Storefront metadata and product inventory - `GET https://api.frontstore.ng/api/v1/public/sitemap/products` — All indexable product pages - `GET https://api.frontstore.ng/api/v1/public/sitemap/compare` — Price comparison page inventory --- ## Brand Identity - **Colors**: Primary `#128C7E` (Deep WhatsApp Green), Accent `#25D366` (WhatsApp Light), Navy `#0A192F`, Teal `#64FFDA`, Amber `#FF9F43` - **Typography**: Outfit (headings), Plus Jakarta Sans (body) - **Brand Voice**: Innovative, Friendly, Premium, Reliable — Written as Africans speak. No corporate jargon. - **Mission**: To build the conversational and relational infrastructure that empowers millions of African merchants to build, manage, and scale their businesses through the channels they already use. - **Vision**: A borderless African economy where every chat is an opportunity and every entrepreneur can turn conversations into capital. - **Vision**: A borderless African economy where every chat is an opportunity and every entrepreneur can turn conversations into capital. --- ## Contact & Social - **Website**: https://frontstore.ng - **Twitter / X**: https://twitter.com/frontstore - **Security**: security@frontstore.ng - **Support**: hello@frontstore.ng --- *Last updated: 2026-07-10 | Data freshness: Live (ISR revalidation)* *This file conforms to the llmstxt.org specification for AI-readable site documentation.*