What does a software and AI studio in Nairobi actually build?

Payment systems on M-Pesa and Paystack, WhatsApp and USSD services, eTIMS invoicing, AI agents, internal business systems and first versions of founder products.

How long until I see something working?

Most projects ship a working v1 in the first week, and we demo every week after that. The scoping call tells you what v1 means for your project.

How much does a project cost?

We do not publish prices because cost depends on the integrations, the number of user roles and what already exists. We quote after a free scoping call.

Do you only work in Kenya?

We are based in Nairobi and build for operators across Africa. The stack includes MTN MoMo and Airtel Money, so projects outside Kenya are in scope.

Can you build the AI part inside an existing system?

Yes. A receipt reader, a reply writer or a code reviewer can sit inside software you already run, behind an API.

Do you also train developers?

Yes. We teach what we ship, through programmes and corporate training. The studio and the training share the same stack.

The Mctaba Labs studio

An AI development company in Kenya that builds for how Africa pays and talks

A Nairobi studio with 50+ products shipped for 30+ clients. We build on M-Pesa, WhatsApp, USSD, eTIMS and Claude, the tools your customers already use.

Book a free scoping call Start a project

50+products shipped
30+clients
Week 1working v1, then weekly demos

What the studio builds

Picture a restaurant till in Westlands: the waiter taps an order, the customer pays by M-Pesa, and a KRA invoice prints. That is the kind of system we build.

We write software for operators in hospitality, fintech, education and community. We also build AI features that sit inside those systems: a receipt reader, a reply writer, a code reviewer.

Every service below has its own page. Start with the one closest to your problem, or book a call and we will point you to it.

The African Stack, in the architecture from day one

Most software is designed for card payments and email, then adapted. We start from the other end.

M-Pesa: STK Push, C2B, B2C and statement queries, called directly on Daraja.
Other rails: Paystack, MTN MoMo and Airtel Money in one checkout.
WhatsApp and USSD: the WhatsApp Cloud API for automation, and USSD through Africa's Talking for feature phones.
eTIMS: KRA-compliant invoicing built into the sale, not bolted on afterwards.

Our own team learnt this stack by shipping it. If you want to read how it fits together, see the African Stack explained.

How we work: four habits

Map the logic before code. Flows, data model and integrations go on paper first.
Africa-first by default. M-Pesa, WhatsApp, USSD and eTIMS are part of the plan from the start.
Production-grade AI. Features use structured outputs, cached prompts and fallback chains.
A working v1 in the first week. Weekly demos follow, so you never wait a month in the dark.

Cost depends on the number of integrations, how many roles use the system and how much of it already exists. We quote after a scoping call, not before.

Want your own team to build it?

We also train. If you would rather grow your own developers, see corporate training. Before you hire anyone, our guide to questions to ask a software studio works on us too.

Products we have built

Our own products and client platforms, running for real users.

Client · Community
HackHouse
A founders system: applications, member directory, events, resource library and a Slack-style workspace.
Client · Events
HackHouse Events
Ticketing with M-Pesa and card payments, and QR check-in at the door.
Product · Fintech
Hesabu
Investor-ready financial projections and scenario models for founders.
Product · Payments
TabFlow
Prepaid dining for co-working spaces, with automatic split payments to vendors.
Product · Operations
Company OS
CRM, finance and expenses for small teams, with receipt OCR and KRA validation.
Product · Education
Mctaba LMS
A learning platform with automated code reviews and real-time feedback.
Product · Education
Mctaba Academy
Self-paced engineering courses you pay for as you go, on M-Pesa.
Product · WhatsApp
Maoni
Guest feedback for hospitality, collected on WhatsApp right after payment.
Product · Payments
Lipapi
M-Pesa Daraja made simple for developers. Private build, no public site yet.
Product · AI
Kadi
AI-generated social carousels, powered by Claude. Private build, no public site yet.

Seven services, and where to read more

Payments integration
M-Pesa Daraja, MTN MoMo, Airtel Money and Paystack behind one checkout.
WhatsApp automation
Chatbots, feedback flows and paid groups on the WhatsApp Business API.
AI agents
Claude-powered agents that read receipts, write replies and review code.
eTIMS integration
KRA-compliant invoicing wired into the till and the M-Pesa payment.
USSD development
Menus that work on any phone, with or without data.
Custom software
Internal systems, back offices and platforms built around how you work.
MVP for founders
A working first version in week one, then weekly demos.
HackHouse Africa: a founders system and ticketing
A client platform with M-Pesa and card payments.
What it costs to build an app in Kenya
The buyer guide to what moves a quote up or down.
Questions to ask before hiring a software studio in Africa
A checklist to run on us and on anyone else.
In-house developer or studio: the cost compared
The hiring question, laid out side by side.
What our learners go on to do
The people we train build the same stack.

Frequently asked questions

What does a software and AI studio in Nairobi actually build?: Payment systems on M-Pesa and Paystack, WhatsApp and USSD services, eTIMS invoicing, AI agents, internal business systems and first versions of founder products.
How long until I see something working?: Most projects ship a working v1 in the first week, and we demo every week after that. The scoping call tells you what v1 means for your project.
How much does a project cost?: We do not publish prices because cost depends on the integrations, the number of user roles and what already exists. We quote after a free scoping call.
Do you only work in Kenya?: We are based in Nairobi and build for operators across Africa. The stack includes MTN MoMo and Airtel Money, so projects outside Kenya are in scope.
Can you build the AI part inside an existing system?: Yes. A receipt reader, a reply writer or a code reviewer can sit inside software you already run, behind an API.
Do you also train developers?: Yes. We teach what we ship, through programmes and corporate training. The studio and the training share the same stack.

Tell us what you need built

Book a free scoping call. You leave with a clear view of v1, the integrations involved and what drives the quote.

Book a free scoping call

Last checked 3 November 2026