Documentation

Everything about how Runambiz works.

Written in plain terms — no jargon, no fine print buried anywhere.

Your business now runs itself.

Runambiz gives every small business a free website and an AI assistant that chats with customers on WhatsApp and Telegram, answers their questions, takes their orders, collects payment, and tells the owner when the money lands.

Set it up once, in about ten minutes. It works while you sleep, and it holds a hundred conversations at the same time without losing track of a single one.

About Runambiz

Runambiz is an AI-powered store manager built for African small businesses — the vendors, tailors, food sellers, salons, gadget dealers and service providers who run their entire trade through WhatsApp, Instagram and word of mouth.

Most of these businesses have no website, no order system and no way to keep up with messages. A flyer goes out, fifty enquiries arrive, and maybe fifteen get a reply. The rest go cold — not because the business is bad, but because one human cannot chat, cook, sew, deliver and reconcile payments at the same time.

Runambiz closes that gap with a single setup. The seller fills a dashboard with products, prices, delivery zones, FAQs and payment details. That dashboard becomes the brain. From it, Runambiz generates a live store website and powers an AI assistant that plugs into WhatsApp and Telegram, answering customers day and night, in as many conversations as arrive at once.

The name comes from pidgin — "run am": run it, handle it, take care of it. That is exactly the promise.

Purpose

Runambiz exists to close the gap between attention and income. African small businesses are excellent at getting attention — flyers spread, status views climb, referrals arrive. What breaks is everything after the first message: slow replies, repeated questions, lost order details, unconfirmed transfers, forgotten follow-ups. Sales leak out of that gap every day.

Stated plainly, our purpose is to:

  1. Make every small business reachable 24 hours a day without hiring anyone.
  2. Turn casual chats into confirmed, recorded, paid orders.
  3. Give every vendor a real web presence at zero cost to start.
  4. Put all sales history, customer data and revenue in one place the owner controls.
  5. Keep the price low enough that a market seller can genuinely afford it.

How it works

Five steps, roughly ten minutes of setup.

Step 1 — Create your store

Sign up with an email. Enter your business name, what you sell, your location and your working hours. The AI setup assistant asks short questions and fills most of it in for you.

Step 2 — Build your brain

Add products with photos, prices, descriptions and a short code such as A12. Add FAQs, delivery zones and fees, account details, and any rules the assistant must follow. This is the memory it answers from — nothing invented, nothing guessed.

Step 3 — Publish your website

One tap generates a live storefront at your own Runambiz link. Share it on status, in your bio, on flyers. Customers browse everything, tap a product, and start a chat with the order already attached.

Step 4 — Connect your channels

Link a Telegram bot in under a minute, free. Optionally connect a dedicated business WhatsApp number so the assistant handles that line completely while your personal number stays private. Connect Paystack for automatic card payments.

Step 5 — Let it run

Customers message. The assistant greets them, answers questions, recommends products, quotes delivery, takes the order, sends the payment link and confirms receipt. You get an instant alert for every order and watch it all from one dashboard.

Businesses that need this

Any business where customers arrive by message rather than by walking in.

Business typeWhat Runambiz handles for them
Fashion and fabric vendorsCatalog browsing, size and colour questions, deposits, delivery quotes
Food vendors and small restaurantsMenu, daily availability, order taking, pickup and delivery windows
Salons, barbers, spasService list, pricing, booking requests, reminders
Gadget and phone dealersStock checks, specs, price negotiation limits, warranty FAQs
Cosmetics and skincare sellersProduct education, bundle recommendations, repeat orders
Home servicesJob scoping, quotes, scheduling, address collection
Event vendorsPackage explanation, date checks, deposit collection
Digital and creative freelancersService packages, scope questions, invoicing
Anyone selling through Instagram or WhatsAppEverything above

Benefits

You stop losing customers

Every message gets a reply in seconds, at any hour, in any volume.

You get your time back

The same six questions get asked forever. The assistant answers them permanently.

Your personal life stays private

Your personal number is never touched — friends and family message you as normal.

Nothing gets lost

Every order is a record with items, price, address, channel and payment status.

You look bigger than you are

A real website and instant professional replies make a one-person shop read as a serious company.

It costs almost nothing to start

Free tier includes the website, the assistant, Telegram and unlimited products.

What it does and how it helps

What Runambiz doesHow that helps the business
Generates a live store websiteInstant credibility and one link to share everywhere
Answers customers on WhatsApp and TelegramNo missed enquiries, no repeated typing
Handles unlimited conversations at onceA flyer post no longer overwhelms you
Recommends products and upsells naturallyHigher order value without hard selling
Quotes delivery fees by zoneNo back-and-forth, no underquoting
Collects full order details before handoffSerious orders instead of "hi how much"
Sends payment links and confirms automaticallyMoney confirmed without checking your bank app
Generates and emails invoicesA professional record for both sides
Alerts you instantly on every orderYou act on fulfilment, not on chatting
Escalates what it can't answerThe assistant never guesses or embarrasses you