Three Ghanaian students launch e-commerce platform, Panta, to support small businesses

Three young entrepreneurs from Heritage Christian University in Accra have launched an e-commerce platform called Panta to help small businesses establish an online presence and receive payments without the high costs of traditional website development. Panta allows sellers to create storefronts from their phones, list products, set prices, and receive orders through a unique link.

The platform, which mimics Amazon's e-commerce model, aims to address two major challenges faced by small businesses and consumers in Ghana's growing online marketplace sector. Firstly, Panta eliminates the high costs of building and maintaining individual websites, providing free online storefronts to vendors. Secondly, the platform strives to improve delivery times, targeting a 48-hour delivery window, although the founders acknowledge they are currently operating at a one-week delivery period.

Panta's primary payment methods include mobile money services, such as MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, and AirtelTigo, as well as card payments, with all transactions conducted in Ghana cedis. A commission is earned on the price of products sold, while delivery incurs no commission. Edmund Alagpulinsa, Selasi Nyatepe Attipoe, and Kwabena Boah Lartey serve as the platform's technology, operational, and marketing leaders, respectively.

Alagpulinsa, the founder, CEO, and CTO, developed the platform's core functionality, while Attipoe oversees operations and Lartey handles marketing strategy and branding.