1. Digitisation is now a legal requirement
KRA's electronic tax invoice system, eTIMS, originally applied to VAT-registered businesses and those above a KES 5 million turnover threshold. That threshold has been removed, and hospitality is explicitly among the regulated sectors named by the Cabinet Secretary. An invoice issued without an eTIMS reference is not legally valid for tax purposes - the buyer cannot claim the expense and KRA can disallow the transaction in an audit.
The practical effect is that restaurants which were content to run on a paper book now legally cannot. This is a policy-driven demand event affecting precisely the businesses Orderly serves, and it is not optional or reversible on a normal adoption timeline. Orderly gives eTIMS compliance free on every plan.
2. Delivery has consolidated under a single foreign platform
Jumia Food exited all its African markets, including Kenya, in December 2023. In July 2026 Uber acquired Glovo's Kenya operations. Glovo previously held roughly a third of Kenyan food delivery. Kenyan regulators have also moved to raise licensing fees on delivery platforms.
Restaurants are therefore more dependent than ever on a small number of foreign platforms that charge commission and retain the customer relationship. That materially increases the appeal of owning a direct ordering channel - which is precisely what Orderly provides alongside the POS.
3. The incumbents do not fit this market
Global platforms are priced for developed markets: Restaurant365 starts around USD 499 per location per month, and industry sources put a typical small restaurant's real POS spend at USD 300 to 700 once processing and add-ons are counted. None of them support M-Pesa natively or KRA eTIMS. Local competitors sell a competent POS at KES 3,000 to 5,000 a month but do not provide online ordering, delivery or a growth channel.
The gap is a system that does both, locally, at a price Kenyan independents can pay.
Explore the business
Why now
A regulatory mandate is forcing digitisation across our exact market.
Market opportunity
Market size, the digitisation gap and where the growth is.
Traction
Customers, product, distribution and what is live today.
Business model
How Orderly makes money and what a customer is worth.
The information on these pages is provided for general business information only. It is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities, and it does not constitute investment advice. Market figures are drawn from published third-party research and are cited on the relevant page. Company figures are current as at the date shown and may change. Please request our detailed materials before making any decision.