Kevin Gautier Kayisire (L) and Crépin Gontran Kayisire (R)
Many small businesses in Rwanda, and across Africa still rely on handwritten records to track sales, manage stock and monitor their finances.
You will find them keeping pens and notebooks, in what is called pen-and-paper records.
A Rwandan startup, founded by brothers Crepin and Kevin Kayisire, is seeking to change that through a digital platform that brings these functions together and gives business owners a clearer picture of how their enterprises are performing.
Crepin and Kevin Kayisire, graduates of the African Leadership University (ALU), founded Kayko in 2021. The company provides software that helps small businesses move away from handwritten records and manage their daily operations digitally.
The idea emerged from a problem they had seen among small businesses in their communities. Many shop owners, salon operators and other small enterprises relied on pen-and-paper records or software that was not designed for the realities of informal businesses across Africa.
The brothers sought to develop a simpler solution. Their platform allows businesses to record sales, manage inventory, track expenses and maintain financial records. It also provides real-time information that owners can use to understand their business performance and make decisions.
The project began as a final-year capstone project at ALU. The university’s emphasis on practical learning, leadership and problem-solving helped shape the idea.
Crepin Kayisire has been previously quoted saying the university’s first-year Leadership Core programme helped him understand how to identify problems and develop solutions.
Company CEO Crepin Kayisire speaking at Africa Week 2025 at Norrsken House Kigali
He said the programme exposed students to leadership, communication, data-driven decision-making, project management and the identification of global challenges and opportunities.
These skills helped him conceptualise the business idea that later became Kayko.
The platform’s impact is reflected in the experience of some of its users.
Gisele Irasubiza, a shop owner in Busanza, Kigali, previously struggled to manage her inventory and understand the financial position of her business.
Kayko enabled her to monitor different aspects of the business remotely. She can now access the information whether she is at her shop, at another job or away from the premises.
The company has since expanded beyond its original bookkeeping services. It now reports serving more than 15,000 businesses across seven African countries.
In December 2025, Kayko raised $1.2 million from investors, including Burrow Capital, Luxembourg Development Agency, Hanga Ignite and develoPPP Ventures.
The funding is intended to support the expansion of its platform and the development of lending services. The company plans to use financial records generated by businesses on its system to assess their needs and offer working-capital financing.
The founders are also preparing to introduce card payments through mobile phones. This would allow merchants to accept card payments alongside the platform’s existing business management services.
Kayko recently completed a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessment, validated on November 10, 2026, by Digital Jewels Africa.
The assessment addresses the protection of cardholder data. However, it does not by itself authorise the company to provide regulated payment services in Rwanda. It must also meet the relevant requirements set by the National Bank of Rwanda.
The proposed service would place Kayko in competition with established merchant payment providers such as Flutterwave, Paystack and Pesapal. Its approach combines payment services with bookkeeping, inventory management and access to financing.
The expansion comes as Rwanda’s payment market remains heavily dominated by mobile money, while card transactions account for a much smaller share.
Kevin Kayisire speaking at function in Kigali
According to the National Bank of Rwanda, mobile merchant transactions increased by 40 per cent to 588 million in the year ended June 2025. Card transactions declined by 23 per cent to 1.6 million over the same period.
However, the value of card transactions increased by 18 per cent to Rwf157 billion.
The Central Bank’s October 2026 report placed point-of-sale payments at approximately 1 per cent of GDP, compared with 174 per cent for mobile payments.
These figures show the challenge facing companies seeking to expand card acceptance. They also point to room for growth as businesses adopt more digital payment and financial management tools.
Kayko’s plans go beyond helping merchants record transactions. By using business data to assess financial performance, the company wants to help small enterprises access loans that might otherwise be difficult to obtain.
The founders have previously emphasised the importance of building a reliable service in Rwanda before expanding further into other markets.
Their ambition is to make financial management easier for small businesses while giving them tools to grow, access financing and participate more fully in the digital economy.
