The Trajectory Africa

In this episode of The Trajectory Africa, Mark Kiarie, Co-founder and CEO of Chpter, explains conversational commerce and how his company uses AI to help businesses serve buyers where they already are, on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Chpter enables them to respond instantly to customers, transforming DMs into sales. Mark also shares how Chpter is building digital infrastructure for *Commerce 3.0*, where chat messages drive revenue for businesses that are selling online.

[0:00] - Introduction, podcasting and a sneaker store success story
[7:19] - Chpter’s value proposition and customers 
[12:14] - Defining conversational commerce 
[20:09] - Chpter’s origin story and product-market fit
[35:00] - Chpter’s approach to customer acquisition
[41:37] - How Chpter makes money
[52:46] - Creating value to capture value
[1:04:18] - The future of digital commerce and a first principle on building in the sector


Recommendations:
  • Chpter podcast: Chpter brings together top experts and innovators in the business world to share their experiences, strategies, and lessons learned.

  • Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa. A report I co-authored on VC investing in Africa. 

Connect on social media:
  • Mark Kiarie on LinkedIn and @markkiaria_ on X
  • Chpter. on LinkedIn and @chpter_co on X
  • The Trajectory Africa on LinkedIn and @trajectoryafrica.bsky.social on Bluesky
  • Tayo Akinyemi on LinkedIn, X, and @TayoAkinyemi.bsky.social on Bluesky

What is The Trajectory Africa?

The Trajectory Africa is a “pop-up” podcast exploring the trajectory, or pathway, of venture capital and startup formation in Africa. With the unique African landscape—market characteristics, business environment, goals, and culture—as a starting point, The Trajectory Africa aims to identify a destination for African tech, as well as the sign posts that signal direction of travel. It’s modeled on the concept of a mixtape, in which each episode, or “track” will feature a conversation with a “guest artist”, and a playlist for inspiration.