OweChase

Automate debt collection for Nigerian merchants with SMS reminders in English & Yoruba

Score: 8.0/10United StatesMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

Nigerian small merchants rely on manual bookkeeping, making it hard to track transactions, manage inventory, and collect debts from customers who owe them.

Solution

OweChase lets small merchants log customer debts, send automated SMS reminders, and track payments effortlessly. It integrates with local mobile money for easy collections and provides debt aging reports to prioritize follow-ups. Merchants save hours chasing owed money, reducing bad debts by up to 50%.

Target Audience

Small merchants and retailers in Nigeria, such as kirana stores and food vendors in Lagos and West Africa

Differentiator

Localized SMS reminders in Yoruba/Pidgin with Paystack integration for instant collections, unlike generic tools ignoring Nigerian languages and payment habits.

Brand Voice

friendly

Features

Debt Logging

must-have8h

Quickly add customer debts with due dates and amounts via mobile form

Automated SMS Reminders

must-have12h

Schedule and send customizable reminders in English/Yoruba via Twilio/AfricasTalking

Payment Tracking

must-have6h

Mark payments received and update balances automatically

Debt Dashboard

must-have10h

Visual overview of total owed, overdue, and aging buckets

Customer Profiles

must-have8h

Store customer details, phone, and debt history

Paystack Integration

must-have15h

Generate payment links for debts and auto-reconcile

Reports Export

nice-to-have6h

PDF/CSV exports of debt summaries

WhatsApp Reminders

nice-to-have8h

Optional WhatsApp notifications

Bulk Import

nice-to-have5h

CSV upload for existing debts

Total Build Time: 78 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
phonetextNo
business_nametextYes
created_attimestampNo

customers

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
nametextNo
phonetextNo
languagetextYes

Relationships:

  • user_id references users(id)

debts

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
customer_iduuidNo
amountintNo
due_datetimestampNo
statustextNo
paid_amountintYes

Relationships:

  • customer_id references customers(id)

API Endpoints

POST
/api/debts

Create new debt

🔒 Auth Required
GET
/api/debts

List user's debts

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/customers

Add customer

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/reminders/send

Trigger SMS reminder

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/payments/webhook

Handle Paystack webhook

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + Shadcn/ui
Backend
Next.js API routes + Supabase Edge Functions
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Paystack + Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
AfricasTalking for SMSResend for emails

Build Timeline

Week 1: Core auth & DB setup

40h
  • User signup/login
  • Basic DB schema

Week 2: Debt CRUD

40h
  • Log/view debts
  • Customer profiles

Week 3: SMS reminders

35h
  • SMS integration
  • Dashboard

Week 4: Payments & reports

30h
  • Paystack links
  • Exports

Week 5: Polish & landing

25h
  • Mobile responsive
  • Landing page
Total Timeline: 5 weeks • 240 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

No exports

  • Up to 10 customers
  • 50 SMS/month
  • Basic dashboard

Pro

$27/mo
  • Unlimited customers
  • 5000 SMS/month
  • Exports
  • Paystack

Enterprise

$97/mo
  • All Pro + priority support
  • Unlimited SMS
  • Custom languages

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 12002%$108$1,296
Month 61,5005%$2,025$24,300

Unit Economics

$8
CAC
$300
LTV
4%
Churn
92%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 37.5xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Stop Chasing Debts – Let OweChase Collect for You

Automated SMS reminders in Yoruba & English help Nigerian merchants recover owed money fast.

Feature Highlights

Log debts in seconds
Auto SMS reminders
Track payments easily
Paystack collections
Debt reports

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'Recovered ₦500k in 2 weeks!' – Aisha, Lagos vendor"
"'Game-changer for my shop' – Chinedu, kirana owner"

First Three Customers

Post in Lagos merchant WhatsApp groups and Facebook communities like 'Lagos Market Women'; offer free Pro access for 3 months in exchange for testimonials; DM 50 food vendors on Instagram with pain-point video demo.

Launch Channels

Product HuntNigerian Twitter (#NaijaSaaS)Facebook Groups (Lagos Traders)Indie Hackers

SEO Keywords

debt collection app Nigeriacustomer owe tracker LagosSMS debt reminders merchants

Competitive Analysis

$25+/mo
Strength

Full accounting

Weakness

No local SMS or languages

Our Advantage

Nigeria-specific debt chase with SMS

Free + fees
Strength

POS sales

Weakness

Weak debt tracking

Our Advantage

Dedicated automated reminders

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from shared customer debt data (opt-in) + SMS templates tuned to Nigerian culture

⏰ Why Now?

80% smartphone penetration in urban Nigeria + rising credit sales post-inflation

Risks & Mitigation

technicalmedium severity

SMS delivery failures

Mitigation

Multi-provider fallback (AfricasTalking + Twilio)

markethigh severity

Low digital adoption

Mitigation

Phone-first UI + offline mode

financiallow severity

Payment gateway fees

Mitigation

Pass-through pricing

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Interview 20 Lagos merchants

Success: 10+ confirm pain & WOY pay $10/mo

mvp14 days

Build core & get 5 beta users

Success: 3 recover debts

Pivot Options

  • Pure POS add-on
  • Inventory focus
  • B2B lender integration

Quick Stats

Build Time
240h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$2,000
Market Size
$50.0M
Features
9
Database Tables
3
API Endpoints
5