case study · platform · creators
NunuaChai
"Buy me a chai" for Kenyan creators — supporter micro-payments and memberships through M-PESA, with creator payouts handled properly.
The brief
Kenyan creators have audiences but few monetisation rails — international platforms assume cards and foreign payouts. NunuaChai localises the model: supporters send small payments via M-PESA, creators withdraw to their phones.
I built the platform from scratch: creator pages, tiered memberships, a payout ledger, and the M-PESA flows that make micro-payments economically viable in Kenya.
What I built
- Creator pages — public profiles where supporters tip or join memberships.
- Tiered memberships — recurring supporter tiers with perks managed by the creator.
- M-PESA micro-payments — STK push sized for tips, not just cart checkouts.
- Payout ledger — every supporter payment tracked to creator balance and withdrawal.
- Supporter feed — creators post updates gated by membership tier.
- Withdrawals — creator payout requests processed to M-PESA.
Under the hood
Micro-payments change the calculus — fees and friction that are noise on a KES 5,000 checkout are fatal on a KES 100 tip. The ledger batches and reconciles so creators see clean balances, and payouts queue through B2C with verification.
Where it is now
NunuaChai gave Kenyan creators a home-grown way to earn from their audience — a business model that only works because the payment rails are local.
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