Three Ghanaian students launch e-commerce platform, Panta, to support small businesses

Three students of Heritage Christian University in Accra have developed a Ghanaian online marketplace designed to give small businesses a simple way to establish an online presence and receive payments without the cost of building a conventional website. The platform, known as Panta , allows sellers to create online storefronts from their phones, list products, set prices and receive orders through a dedicated link. Founded in 2026 by Edmund Alagpulinsa, Selasi Nyatepe Attipoe and Kwabena Boah Lartey, Panta is currently working on expanding its vendor base and building the infrastructure needed to meet its delivery objectives. The platform operates on an e-commerce model similar to Amazon, allowing businesses to list their products online for customers to purchase.

In brief chats, Edmund Alagpulinsa said Panta was developed to address two major challenges confronting small businesses and consumers in Ghana’s growing e-commerce sector. For small businesses, one of the key challenges is establishing an online presence and reaching a wider customer base. The founder explained that businesses often have to spend thousands of Ghana cedis on web developers to create and maintain individual websites. Panta, however, seeks to eliminate that cost by providing vendors with a free online storefront once they join the platform. “When you join as a vendor, you automatically get a website running for free. You don’t have to pay any developer, and you don’t have to pay for a domain name,” the founder said. The second challenge the platform seeks to tackle is the length of time customers often wait for products purchased through existing e-commerce platforms. He cited platforms whose delivery times could range from several days to weeks, depending on the platform and product. Panta’s…