STRAX Reach · SMS, email and voice

Two-way SMS through Africa's Talking

Use Africa's Talking shortcodes and sender ids to reach clients in the markets it covers, with every reply filed in Reach.

Part of Reach
  • Shortcodes and sender ids
  • Token-checked replies
  • Sandbox or live

Regional SMS routes, one client history

Africa's Talking posts incoming messages to a callback address that carries a token you choose. Reach checks it, matches the number to a client and records the message in their conversation.

Outbound messages leave from your shortcode or approved sender id. A per-environment setting points staging at the sandbox and production at the live service, so testing never sends a real message.

Reach treats Africa's Talking as one more SMS route, so a client's messages from a Kenyan shortcode and their WhatsApp chats sit together on one record. Your team answers both from the same console.

Delivery reports tell you whether each handset received the text. Keeping them beside the replies helps your support staff explain to a borrower or an agent exactly when a notice was sent and whether it arrived.

Where it helps

Mobile money confirmations

Confirm deposits and withdrawals in markets where SMS is still the receipt clients trust.

Airtime top-up notices

Tell prepaid clients when a top-up succeeded or failed.

Agent communication

Keep in touch with field agents who work from basic handsets.

Loan repayment reminders

Microlenders remind borrowers of an instalment date by SMS, and borrowers reply with questions that reach the collections desk.

What you need

  • An Africa's Talking app

    The sandbox app for testing and a live app with a shortcode or sender id.

  • The username and API key

    Stored in the STRAX credential vault.

  • A public HTTPS address

    For the incoming messages callback.

  • Reach Core

    The records and console the channel files into.

Good to know

Numbers must be registered with the country code first and without a plus sign, for example 254711000001.

Questions

Can staging use the sandbox?

Yes, set the service address per environment so staging calls the sandbox and production calls the live service.

Which countries does it cover?

The markets Africa's Talking serves. Ask them which countries your shortcode or sender id can reach before you plan a launch.

What is still missing?

Replies inside premium subscription sessions and USSD menus.

Can we run Twilio and Africa's Talking side by side?

Yes, both SMS packages can be installed. Each client identity belongs to one channel, and your applications choose the channel when they send.

How do we test without sending real messages?

Point staging at the sandbox, use the Africa's Talking simulator as the handset and watch the messages arrive in Reach.

Read more

Add Africa's Talking SMS to Reach

Tell us which channels your clients use and we will plan the rollout with your team.

Premium Requires STRAX Reach - Core, which is licensed.

Request a quote →

About this listing

Version1.0.0
AuthorSTRAX
CategoryCommunication
Published2026-09-24

What's inside

Credential 2
Global variable 2
Workflow 2

What happens on install

After the import, and only with your consent, the installer runs:

  • Reach - Register Channel : Registers the Africa's Talking SMS channel with Reach Core, disabled until its credentials are entered
Security screening. This bundle carries executable workflow steps and embedded secrets. These flags are recomputed server-side from the actual package contents (they are never taken from the author), and STRAX asks for your explicit consent before installing executable content.

Free listing

Install it from Feature Marketplace inside STRAX

It builds on STRAX Reach - Core, a premium package. Ask us for a quote to license it first.

Open Feature Marketplace

In your STRAX installation, open Feature Marketplace from the navigation.

Find "STRAX Reach - Africas Talking"

Search or browse to this listing and review the contents disclosure; every package shows what it contains before anything runs.

Install

Choose Install, or "Customise with AI" to adapt the package to your environment first. No licence is needed for free listings.

Back to the catalogue →

Africa's Talking is a trademark of its owner, named here only to identify the service this package connects to.

See it on your own systems.

A demo takes an hour, on your data landscape rather than ours.

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