Question 1

What is NaiForge?

Accepted Answer

NaiForge is a Nairobi-based productized web development studio. It builds ecommerce websites with M-Pesa checkout and bespoke web design for businesses across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, with one-time pricing starting at KES 25,000 — no recurring fees.

Question 2

Where is NaiForge located?

Accepted Answer

NaiForge is based in Karen, Nairobi, Kenya. It operates as a Service-Area Business and serves clients across all major Kenyan cities (Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret) and regional markets in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

Question 3

How do I contact NaiForge?

Accepted Answer

Phone: +254 790 117 953. Email: hello@naiforge.com. WhatsApp available at the same phone number. Hours: 08:00 to 20:00 East Africa Time (UTC+3), seven days a week.

Question 4

What services does NaiForge offer?

Accepted Answer

Three services: (1) Ecommerce — online shops with M-Pesa checkout integrated, from KES 25,000 one-time. (2) Web Design — custom non-template website design from KES 25,000. (3) Web Development — modern React/TanStack Start websites on global edge hosting from KES 25,000. Every service includes M-Pesa checkout, fast global CDN, SSL, SEO fundamentals, and full code ownership on handover.

Question 5

How much does a NaiForge website cost?

Accepted Answer

Three productized tiers with fixed one-time prices. Starter Shop: KES 25,000 with 5-7 day delivery. Standard Shop: KES 45,000 with 2-week delivery. Premium Shop: KES 80,000+ with 3-4 week delivery. Terms: 50% deposit, balance on delivery. Extra revisions KES 3,000 each. No recurring platform fees paid to NaiForge.

Question 6

What makes NaiForge different from Shopify or Wix?

Accepted Answer

Three differentiators. (1) One-time KES pricing vs Shopify's USD subscription forever (foreign currency exposure plus a 2% alternative-payment surcharge when not using Shopify Payments, which is unavailable in Kenya). (2) M-Pesa checkout via standard Kenyan payment gateways — same architecture as everyone else, but without Shopify's 2% alternative-payment surcharge stacked on top of gateway fees. (3) Full code and data ownership on handover vs SaaS platform lock-in.

Question 7

What makes NaiForge different from Jumia or Sky.Garden?

Accepted Answer

Brand ownership and margin. NaiForge delivers a standalone website where the merchant owns the customer relationship, the storefront URL, and the brand — versus marketplaces like Jumia (6-29% commission plus 7-21 day payout delay) and Sky.Garden (8% commission). For a merchant doing KES 200,000 per month in sales, marketplace commissions typically cross the cost of a NaiForge Standard site within 2-3 months.

Question 8

How does NaiForge integrate M-Pesa?

Accepted Answer

Via established Kenyan payment gateways (default: Paystack; IntaSend, Pesapal, and Flutterwave available on request). The customer experiences a standard M-Pesa pop-up at checkout and the merchant receives funds to their Till or Paybill with server-side webhook verification of every order. Gateway transaction fees are roughly comparable across providers (~2.5-3% for M-Pesa via gateway). The bigger cost lever is your platform's recurring subscription, which NaiForge sites avoid entirely via one-time pricing.

Question 9

What technology stack does NaiForge use?

Accepted Answer

React 19 with TypeScript, TanStack Start for routing and SSR, deployed to a modern global edge platform (with Nairobi edge presence), edge-distributed SQL database via Drizzle ORM, Tailwind CSS v4, Better Auth for authentication, Resend for email, and GSAP for motion. Optimizations target Core Web Vitals under Google's thresholds: LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, CLS under 0.1 on Kenyan mobile networks.

Question 10

Can NaiForge build my site if I'm not in Nairobi?

Accepted Answer

Yes. NaiForge serves clients across all major Kenyan cities (Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret) and regional markets (Kampala, Dar es Salaam, Kigali) fully remotely via WhatsApp and video calls. No pricing premium for non-Nairobi clients. For larger projects above KES 60,000, travel for in-person kick-off is available when project value justifies.

Question 11

Does NaiForge offer ongoing maintenance?

Accepted Answer

Optional, not mandatory. Standard maintenance: KES 5,000 per month covering bug fixes, content updates, payment gateway troubleshooting, and security patches. Or pay-per-task at KES 3,000 per change. Premium tier includes one month of free maintenance post-launch.

Question 12

Does NaiForge do international work?

Accepted Answer

Primary market is Kenya and East Africa. NaiForge serves clients in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. The stack is internationally capable, but NaiForge's differentiators (M-Pesa integration, Kenyan-language pricing, EAT-timezone support) align best with businesses serving East African markets. USD-billing workflows are supported when needed.

Question 13

Is NaiForge a good fit for every business?

Accepted Answer

No. NaiForge is a deliberate fit for Kenyan and East African ecommerce and SMB web projects in the KES 25,000-80,000+ range. Not a fit for: businesses under 10 orders per day where WhatsApp Business still works; enterprise projects needing multi-week strategy workshops and full agency teams; projects requiring native mobile apps (web-only studio); or highly regulated categories needing specialized compliance work.

Question 14

How does NaiForge deliver projects?

Accepted Answer

Workflow: 30-minute scoping call or WhatsApp brief → 50% deposit → build sprint (5-28 days depending on tier) with daily WhatsApp updates → one mid-build review checkpoint → balance on delivery → site goes live with verified M-Pesa flow → one month of post-launch support (Premium tier) or hand over credentials. Source code and admin access transferred at launch.

Question 15

Does NaiForge publish case studies?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Current public case studies include Mounting Home Construction (Nairobi construction company, site tripled quote requests post-launch, 50+ projects showcased) and Lintons Beauty World (East Africa's leading beauty retailer, 30+ physical shops across Nairobi/Mombasa/Kampala, authorized stockist for premium global beauty brands). Both live and linked from naiforge.com/work.

NaiForge brand facts