Pricing Software for African SMEs: What Actually Works

Pricing is hard. Pricing for price-sensitive markets is harder.

What Doesn't Work

Per-User Pricing: SMEs share accounts. We'd make nothing.

Enterprise Pricing: "Call us for a quote" scares away small businesses.

Too Cheap: We tried $20/month. Customers didn't value it. Churn was high.

What Works

Tiered Pricing:

• Basic: KES 5,000/month (~$40)
• Standard: KES 10,000/month (~$80)
• Premium: KES 20,000/month (~$160)

Features scale with price. Most customers pick Standard.

The Rationale

Too cheap = not serious. Too expensive = can't afford.

KES 10,000/month is expensive enough to be valuable, cheap enough to be accessible.

Annual Discount

Pay yearly, get 2 months free. Improves cash flow and reduces churn.

The Result

About 60% take Standard. 30% Basic. 10% Premium. Average revenue per customer: ~$70/month.

Not life-changing, but sustainable.