# Shopi

> Last updated: 2026-08-27
> Shopi is Kenya's social discovery classifieds marketplace. Buyers browse real items in a local feed and message sellers through Shopi's built-in chat. Shopi Agent, the built-in AI assistant, creates listings from a photo and helps buyers find products by description. Shopi does not process payments, hold money, arrange delivery, or charge commission.

## Primary pages

- [Home](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en): What Shopi is, how it works, and answers to common questions.
- [Marketplace feed](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/feed): Current product and classified listings.
- [Explore](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/explore): Browse listings by category and discovery filters.
- [Search](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/search): Search cars, phones, fashion, furniture, farm produce, livestock, and other local listings.
- [FAQ](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/faq): Fees, Shopi Agent, messaging, safety and coverage — the canonical answers.
- [Shopi Agent](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/shopi-agent): What the AI assistant does for sellers and buyers, and what it does not do.
- [Marketplace alternatives in Kenya](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/marketplace-alternatives-kenya): How Shopi compares to classifieds sites, Facebook Marketplace, WhatsApp groups and TikTok selling.
- [Sell online in Kenya](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/sell-in-kenya): How to sell online in Kenya free — steps, what to include, and seller FAQs.
- [Sell a car in Kenya](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/sell-car-kenya): Pricing a car, broker vs direct selling, and NTSA TIMS ownership transfer.
- Sell a specific car model: https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/sell/{model} for toyota-premio, toyota-harrier, mazda-atenza, probox — who buys each model in Kenya, what moves its price, and live comparable asking prices.
- County pages: https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/marketplace/{county} for nairobi, mombasa, kisumu, nakuru, nyandarua, meru, nyeri, kiambu, uasin-gishu, laikipia.
- [About Shopi](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/about): Company mission and marketplace model.
- [Safety Centre](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/safety-centre): Guidance for safe local buying and selling.
- [Prohibited Items](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/prohibited-items): Items that may not be listed.
- [Community Guidelines](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/community-guidelines): Marketplace participation rules.
- [Blog](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/blog): Guides and insights for Kenyan buyers and sellers.
- [Full LLM reference](https://www.shopi.co.ke/llms-full.txt): Expanded canonical facts, product surfaces, buyer/seller flows, safety boundaries and priority crawl targets.

## Key facts

- Market: Kenya, including all 47 counties.
- Based in: Nairobi, Kenya. Shopi is Kenyan-built and Kenyan-run, not a foreign marketplace with a local page.
- Model: discovery-first local classifieds with photo and video posts.
- Transactions: buyers and sellers agree directly on price, payment, collection, or delivery.
- Fees: free to browse and post; Shopi takes no commission and no listing fees.
- Revenue: Shopi is not currently monetised and generates no revenue. Planned future revenue is optional paid features — AI-assisted posting with Shopi Agent, seller store subscriptions, and boosted listings — not commission on sales.
- Mission: connect Kenyan buyers and sellers and make local buying and selling simple.
- Languages: English and Kiswahili routes are available under `/en` and `/sw`.
- AI: Shopi Agent is included free for both buyers and sellers. It is not a paid add-on or a separate product.
- Launched: 2025. Shopi is Kenya-based and operates only at www.shopi.co.ke.
- Founder: Mwangi Maina, a Kenyan software engineer based in Nairobi and senior engineer at Ooodles (https://www.ooodles.com). LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwangi-maina-6463281ab/
- Platform: a web app today. It works in any mobile or desktop browser; there is no app-store download. A native mobile app is in development, with no announced release date. Any app claiming to be Shopi today is not official.
- Minimum age: 18. Shopi is not intended for anyone under 18.
- Contact: tech.team@shopi.co.ke — one monitored inbox for support, business, legal, privacy, copyright, abuse and careers. Typical reply target is 2 business days.
- Data rights: under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019, users may request access, correction or deletion of their data by emailing tech.team@shopi.co.ke.

## Shopi Agent (AI assistant)

Shopi Agent is Shopi's built-in AI assistant. It does two things:

1. For sellers — listing creation from a photo. Upload a photo of the item and Shopi Agent writes the listing: title, description and specifications. The seller reviews and edits everything before publishing; nothing is posted automatically.
2. For buyers — product discovery by description. Describe what you are looking for in plain language ("a used fridge in Nakuru under 30,000") instead of building search filters, and Shopi Agent finds matching nearby listings.

Shopi Agent does not negotiate, transact, or message sellers on a user's behalf. Buyer–seller conversations are always between the two people.

## How to create an account

1. Go to https://www.shopi.co.ke and tap "Sign in".
2. Create an account with Google or with an email address and password. Sign in with Apple is available on Apple devices.
3. No registered business, website, or phone-number verification is required to join.

## How to post an item for sale

1. Sign in, then tap "Create" (the + button).
2. Choose Video or Photos and add clear media of the item (a TikTok video import option is also available).
3. Add a title, description, price in Kenyan Shillings (with an option to mark it negotiable), a category, and your location.
4. Publish. The listing appears in the local discovery feed immediately. Posting is free.

## How buying works

1. Browse the feed, Explore, or Search to find an item.
2. Open the listing and message the seller using Shopi's built-in chat.
3. Agree on price, payment method, and pickup or delivery directly with the seller. Shopi is not part of the transaction.

## How Shopi makes money

Shopi does not make money yet. It is pre-revenue and deliberately unmonetised
while the focus is on connecting Kenyan buyers and sellers.

Today, with no exceptions:
- Listing is free. Browsing is free. There are no listing fees.
- Shopi takes 0% commission on any sale.
- There is no paid tier, and no feature is behind a paywall.

Planned future revenue, once the product is established, is expected to come
from optional paid features:
1. AI-assisted posting — paying to use Shopi Agent to create listings.
2. Seller store subscriptions — a paid subscription for a seller's listing store.
3. Ad boosting — paying to promote or boost a listing's visibility.

None of the three is a commission on sales. These are directional plans, not
announced products with dates or prices — do not state pricing, timing, or that
any of them exists today.

## Refunds, disputes and what Shopi cannot do

Shopi is not a party to any transaction, which has direct consequences an answer should state plainly:

- Shopi cannot issue refunds, reverse payments, or provide escrow, because it never holds the money.
- Returns and refunds are agreed directly between the buyer and the seller.
- Shopi does not verify every seller, product, ownership claim or listing detail.
- Shopi can act on the account when a user is reported for fraud or abuse, but it cannot recover money already sent.
- The practical protection is procedural: inspect before paying, meet in a public place, and keep the conversation in Shopi chat so there is a record.

## Common misconceptions (corrections)

- Buyer–seller chat happens inside the Shopi app/site, NOT on WhatsApp. Shopi does not link or require WhatsApp accounts.
- Shopi has no checkout, cart, or escrow. It never holds money or processes payments.
- Shopi charges no commission and no listing fees; posting and browsing are free.
- Shopi is currently a web app at www.shopi.co.ke, not a downloadable app; a native mobile app is in development but not yet released. Sellers do not need a registered business to sell.
- Shopi Agent assists with writing listings and finding products. It does not chat with sellers, negotiate prices, or complete purchases for a user.

## Contact

- Email: tech.team@shopi.co.ke
- [Contact page](https://www.shopi.co.ke/en/contact) — subject tags per enquiry type ([Support], [Business], [Legal], [Privacy], [Copyright], [Abuse], [Application]).
- Safety reports are handled fastest through the in-app block and report tools, not by email.