Building a Delivery App in Kenya: Cost, Features and What to Build First
Water, gas, groceries, parcels and food: delivery businesses in Kenya outgrow WhatsApp and notebooks fast. Here's what a delivery app needs, what to build first, and how to keep the cost sensible.
Most Kenyan delivery businesses start on WhatsApp and a notebook. That works until there are two riders, fifty orders a day and customers asking 'where's my order?' every ten minutes. A delivery app replaces the notebook, not the people.
What a delivery app needs
- Customer ordering by app, web or WhatsApp, with saved addresses and repeat orders
- M-Pesa payment at order, or prepaid credit for regular customers (common for water and gas)
- Dispatch: assign orders to riders by area
- A rider view: the day's drops, directions and delivery confirmation
- Order status messages to customers
- An owner dashboard: orders, cash collected, rider performance, unpaid accounts
What to build first
Start with ordering, M-Pesa and a simple dispatch list. Live GPS tracking, ratings and a customer app in the Play Store can come later. A web app that installs on phones is usually enough for version one, and much cheaper.
Best delivery apps in Kenya, and when to build your own
Glovo, Uber Eats and similar platforms bring customers but take a commission on every order. If most of your orders come from repeat customers you already have, your own ordering system keeps that margin and the customer relationship.
Antony Mungai
Founder, Steff Cloud — building websites, systems and automation for Kenyan businesses from Nakuru.