Mastercard and Flowcart Team to Promote Social Commerce in Africa

Mastercard has entered a collaboration with Kenya-based social commerce firm Flowcart, as announced in a news release on Monday. The partnership aims to seamlessly integrate secure card payments into social and conversational commerce experiences, according to Shehryar Ali, Mastercard's senior vice president and country manager for East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands.

Ali emphasized that this collaboration will enable merchants to capitalize on the rapidly growing trend of social commerce, which is transforming how consumers discover and engage with brands. By embedding secure payments directly into these experiences, Mastercard and Flowcart aim to unlock new growth opportunities for merchants and expand digital payment acceptance in Africa's fastest-growing digital economy.

The partnership will initially launch in Kenya before expanding to other East African nations and high-growth markets like South Africa, Nigeria, and Côte d'Ivoire. The collaboration marks a shift towards embedded, conversational commerce, where payments become an integral part of customer engagement. WhatsApp, for instance, handles over 20% of Kenya's eCommerce orders.

By combining Flowcart's AI-powered commerce orchestration platform with Mastercard's payment network, the companies intend to help merchants increase transaction frequency, encourage repeat purchases, and broaden acceptance in underserved and informal commerce segments. The solution is specifically designed to empower Kenya's growing creator economy, enabling social sellers to monetize their audience directly on the platforms where they engage with their followers.

This 'chat-to-pay' loop removes friction and helps merchants boost conversion rates. The partnership aligns with the findings of PYMNTS Intelligence report "The SMB Growth Engine: How Digital Sales and Customer Tracking Drive Revenue," which revealed that digital channels are helping SMBs extend their reach and gain a growth advantage over traditional store-based businesses.

SMB revenue in the United States grew by an average of 9.5% in 2025, more than double the 4.7% increase in nominal gross domestic product. Digital channels accounted for an average of 57% of SMB sales, compared to 41% from physical channels.