Everything you need to set up your store, list products, manage orders, and grow your business on Afrimarts.
Becoming a seller on Afrimarts takes just a few minutes. Follow these steps to go from sign-up to your first live product.
Register at afrimarts.com with your email address. You need a buyer account before you can apply to sell. Verify your email when prompted.
From your dashboard, go to Vendor Application. Fill in your store name, description, contact info, city, and region. Upload your store logo (recommended: 400×400 px, square).
Our team reviews applications within 24–48 hours. You will receive an email once your vendor account is activated. Until then, you can explore your dashboard but cannot publish products.
Once approved, go to Products → Add New Product. Fill in the product identity, upload images, write a description, and optionally add size/colour variations. Your product goes live immediately after saving.
Decide whether customers can buy directly from your store (you manage stock) or whether you prefer to chat with them first and create orders yourself. This can be changed at any time from your vendor profile settings.
Pro tip: Complete your store profile fully before adding products. A professional logo, accurate contact info, and a clear store description significantly improve buyer trust and search visibility.
| Field | Description | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Store Name | Your public store name seen by all buyers. | ✅ Yes |
| Logo | Square image, min 200×200 px. Shown on product pages and store listings. | Recommended |
| Description | What you sell, your specialities, and any unique value you offer. | Recommended |
| City & Region | Used for shipping calculations and buyer search filters. | ✅ Yes |
| Phone / WhatsApp | Buyers and the platform can reach you directly. | Recommended |
| Order Mode | Direct ordering vs. chat-first ordering (see Section 4). | ✅ Yes |
| Subdomain | Your unique store URL, e.g. mystore.afrimarts.com. | Auto-generated |
Important: Your store name and subdomain cannot be changed after activation without contacting support. Choose carefully when applying.
Navigate to Dashboard → Products → Add New Product. The form is divided into clear sections:
After creating the product, go to Update Product to set the sale price, cost price, stock quantity, weight, and minimum stock level for each variation.
From Products → Admin Products, click a product's Update button to reach the variation management page. For each size/colour combination you can set:
Every product must have a condition label so buyers know what to expect:
Brand new, never used, original packaging.
Previously owned, may show signs of wear.
Professionally restored to working order.
Opened but unused; all accessories included.
Not fully working; sold for components or repair.
No duplicate names: You cannot create two products with the same name in your store. If you have variants (e.g. different sizes of the same item), use the Variations system rather than creating separate products.
Afrimarts gives you full control over how customers interact with your products. Choose the mode that fits your business.
Customers can add products to their cart and pay immediately through Mobile Money. You must keep your stock levels up to date to avoid orders for out-of-stock items. Refunds are required for unfulfillable orders.
The Add to Cart button is hidden. Customers see a Chat with Seller button instead, with the pre-filled message "Hello, is [product] still available?". You confirm availability, then create the order yourself from the chat window.
Regardless of your order mode, you can always create orders manually for customers. Go to Dashboard → Create Order, or — even faster — open a chat with a customer and click the green Create Order button in the chat header. The customer's email is pre-filled automatically.
When creating an order you can:
The customer receives an in-app notification and can pay through their My Orders page using Mobile Money — no need for them to go through the normal checkout.
Each order moves through the following statuses. You control some; others are triggered by payment or customer action.
| Status | What it means | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Pending | Order created but payment not yet confirmed. | System (automatic) |
| Processing | Payment confirmed. You should now prepare the items for dispatch. | System (on payment success) |
| Shipped | Items have been dispatched to the buyer. Provide a tracking number if available. | You (Vendor) |
| Delivered | Buyer confirmed receipt. Funds are released to your wallet. | Buyer or platform (after timeout) |
| Cancelled | Order cancelled before shipment. Payment is refunded to the buyer. | Admin or system |
Only orders in Processing status can be marked as shipped. Do not mark as shipped until the items have physically left your possession.
You can edit a vendor order (adjust items, quantities, shipping, or notes) before it is shipped. Go to the order detail page and click Edit Order. Once marked as shipped, orders cannot be edited.
From any order detail page, click Contact Customer to open a direct chat thread. The conversation is linked to the specific order so the context is always clear.
All customer messages are in one place at Dashboard → Vendor Inbox. The inbox shows all conversations on the left, and clicking a conversation opens the full chat on the right — no page reload needed.
When you've agreed on a purchase with a customer in the chat, click the green Create Order button in the top-right corner of the chat window. You will be taken directly to the order creation form with the customer's email already filled in — no searching required.
Response time matters: Buyers see "Typically replies within 24h" on your store profile. Fast replies build trust and increase conversion. Aim to respond to all messages within a few hours.
Funds from confirmed deliveries that are ready to withdraw to your Mobile Money account.
Earnings from shipped orders awaiting buyer delivery confirmation. Released once the buyer confirms.
Lifetime count of all orders placed with your store, across all statuses.
Cumulative revenue from all completed orders. Useful for tracking store growth over time.
How many times each product page was visited. Helps identify your most-viewed items.
Customer star ratings and written feedback on products they've purchased from you.
Go to Dashboard → Pending Balance to see a line-by-line breakdown of each shipped order that hasn't yet been confirmed as delivered. This helps you forecast your upcoming payouts.
A platform fee is deducted from each withdrawal. The current fee percentage is shown on your analytics page before you confirm. Withdrawals are only available if your vendor account has withdrawal rights enabled by the platform administrator.
As a store owner, you can invite team members to help manage your store. Each member gets a role and specific permissions — they never have access to things you haven't granted.
Invitations expire after 7 days. You can resend or revoke them from the Team page at any time.
Roles bundle multiple permissions together for easy assignment. The platform comes with pre-built roles:
| Role | Typical Permissions |
|---|---|
| Store Manager | Full access to products, orders, messages, and team management. |
| Product Manager | Can add, edit, and delete products and update stock levels. |
| Order Fulfiller | Can view and process orders, mark as shipped, and contact customers. |
| Custom | You can assign any combination of individual permissions directly. |
Security note: Only invite people you trust. Team members with sufficient permissions can view customer data, create orders, and manage your products. You can deactivate or remove a member at any time from the Team page.
Products with 4+ clear, high-resolution photos get significantly more clicks and conversions than those with a single image.
Include dimensions, materials, weight, what's in the box, and who the product is for. Buyers who find their questions answered don't need to ask.
Overstating a product's condition leads to disputes and bad reviews. Honest descriptions build long-term buyer trust.
Respond to chat messages within hours, not days. Buyers comparing stores will choose whoever responds first.
If you use Direct Ordering mode, always keep your stock quantities accurate. Zero-stock products are automatically marked Out of Stock.
A short YouTube demo video massively boosts buyer confidence, especially for electronics, appliances, and complex products.
After delivery, politely ask satisfied customers to leave a review. Products with ratings rank higher in search results.
Mark orders as shipped within 24–48 hours of payment confirmation. Delays lead to buyer anxiety and cancellation requests.
Join thousands of vendors already growing their business on Afrimarts.
Apply as a Vendor