Africans already pay for big purchases over time — at the counter, with mobile money, on a shop's notebook. We're the software underneath: mobile-money-native, WhatsApp-first, multi-currency. One platform, every retailer.
Before we sell you the software, we run our own layby marketplace — ZimLayby — on it: appliances, sofas, beds. These numbers come straight from the live database, refreshed every time this page loads. Not slideware — what's flowing through the rails right now.
57% of Sub-Saharan African adults are unbanked. They can't access store credit. They can't use BNPL apps. They pay over time the way their parents did — at the counter, in cash, with a notebook. We turn that into software.
Retailers run layby on WhatsApp screenshots and exercise books. Customers and shopkeepers argue about what was paid. Trust is the friction.
The 400M unbanked are invisible to traditional finance. BNPL apps require KYC the unbanked cannot pass. Layby is the only working credit substitute.
Shopify ignores layby. Custom software is out of reach for a Harare or Lagos shop. We are the missing layer — purpose-built for African retail.
Banks won't lend to them, so retailers lose them at the counter. With layby on a proper system, those same customers become committed buyers — and retailers grow their top line, not just their organisation.
"I'll save up and come back" rarely becomes a return visit. Layby converts that moment into a sale — captured today, with a deposit, before the customer drifts to a competitor with a payment plan.
When the framing shifts from "$549 upfront" to "$46/week", customers reach further up the shelf — the better model, the bigger appliance, the bundle they actually wanted. Average ticket size lifts measurably.
Each completed layby is a customer who already trusts the shop. They return for the next purchase without any acquisition cost. Layby creates relationships where one-time sales used to die.
We launched in the toughest market in Southern Africa — multi-currency, 80% unbanked, manual mobile-money rails. If our software works here, it works anywhere on the continent.
The retailer doesn't touch a spreadsheet. The customer doesn't need a bank. Everything happens in WhatsApp, mobile money, and a clean web portal.
Mobile-first apply form. Pick items, set deposit and duration, e-sign. No bank check, no credit score.
Staff sees the queue, approves with one click. Inventory auto-reserves. Customer gets WhatsApp + email confirmation.
EcoCash, bank, cash, anything. Customer sends proof via WhatsApp. Auto-reconciled. Reminders go out automatically.
Item-by-item collection as the customer pays them off. Receipt, agreement and statement available as PDFs anytime.
Layby Africa is the software and payment rails — admin, storefront, customer portal — that any retailer runs themselves, on their own brand, with their own customers. ZimLayby is our own layby marketplace, built on the exact same rails: proof they work, and the demand engine that funds them. Think AWS and Amazon — we sell the rails, and we run the biggest store on them ourselves. We don't compete for your customers.
The software + payment rails. Admin, customer storefront, customer portal — your brand, your customers, your terms. Pick a tier; we run the rails underneath.
Our own multi-category layby marketplace — appliances, sofas, beds, groceries — built on these exact rails. The flagship that proves the software and feeds it real GMV.
Our flagship storefront in Harare. Appliances on layby. 122 customers, $7.5K currently held in active layby contracts.
Our furniture storefront. Distinct brand, separate catalogue, isolated data — stood up in days. Proof the rails spin up a new store without a rebuild.
Specialty bed storefront. Multi-brand catalogue: 9 KDV bedsets (SABQA-nominated, 34K FB) + 79 Restapedic SKUs. Capital-light fulfilment — suppliers ship, we hold the customer and the margin.
Your brand, your customers, your terms. Admin, storefront and customer portal, live in under an hour. See it working first on the marketplace we run ourselves.