Tunu Store
Tunu Store is a digital commerce platform designed specifically for the African creator economy. It addresses the fragmented payment landscape and lack of localized storefront tools for digital products.
The Problem
African creators (musicians, ebook authors, software developers) face significant friction in selling digital goods globally. International platforms like Gumroad or Lemonsqueezy often have payout restrictions or lack local payment methods like M-PESA. Local solutions, on the other hand, often lack the polish, trust, and global payment rails (Card/PayPal) needed to sell to an international audience.
The Solution
I built Tunu Store as a bridge. It integrates:
- Dual-Rail Payments: Seamlessly accepting M-PESA (local) and Stripe/PayPal (global).
- Automated Delivery: Secure, signed URLs for file access.
- Merchant Dashboard: A "linear-style" analytics and product management interface to give creators professional-grade tools.
Technical Complexity
The core challenge was reconciling state between different payment webhooks. M-PESA is synchronous/callback-based, while Stripe webhooks are asynchronous and can arrive out of order. I implemented a robust state machine using PostgreSQL transactions to ensure orders are never left in "limbo"—money taken but product not delivered. Another interesting challenge was localized pricing. The system automatically detects visitor IP and currency preferences to display "Purchasing Power Parity" friendly pricing where configured by the merchant.
Outcome
Tunu Store now serves over 120,000+ creators across Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. It has processed significant volume in gross merchandise value (GMV) and empowered creators to earn a living directly from their craft without intermediaries taking massive cuts.