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 long-term objective is to deliver orders within 48 hours, although the founder acknowledged that the platform is still at an early stage.

“We are starting. Right now, we are looking at a week, and with time, we will keep improving the delivery time until we can finally hit our 48-hour delivery target,” the founder explained.

Payments can be made through mobile money services, including MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash and AirtelTigo, as well as by card, with transactions conducted in Ghana cedis.

The platform also incorporates a system through which sellers are paid after customers confirm that their orders have been delivered.

Panta earns a commission on the price of products sold, while no commission is charged on delivery.

The three youthful founders have divided responsibilities across technology, operations and marketing.

Mr Alagpulinsa, who is the founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer, designed and developed the platform, including the seller storefronts, marketplace, payment system and vendor payout functions.

He said his experience with software development exposed him to the difficulties faced by small businesses seeking to move online.

“Two million small businesses in Ghana are running real businesses out of a WhatsApp thread. Not because they want to — because a website costs a developer, a domain and a hosting bill they can't justify. We built the alternative,” he said.

Mr Alagpulinsa, who is in his final year at Heritage Christian University and is expected to graduate in 2027, began programming while in senior high school and subsequently taught himself software development.

He said Panta was conceived around the idea that small businesses should be able to establish an online store without having to acquire technical skills.

“A seller shouldn't have to become technical to sell. You should be able to open your store from your phone, on your own link, and start trading the same day,” he said.

Mr Attipoe, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, oversees the operational side of the platform, including order handling and the company's relationships with delivery and logistics partners.

A developer and open-source advocate, he is also a student of Heritage Christian University. He has volunteered with the Red Cross on initiatives involving disaster relief, education, science and technology.

Mr Lartey, the third co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, is responsible for marketing strategy, branding, customer research and content.

He has experience in graphic design and creative management and has led creative teams in student and professional projects.

He serves as Head of Creatives for the Lits. Without Limits Union and Lead Creative Director of the Heritage International Model United Nations. He is also the Face of Heritage, the university's student ambassador, where he is involved in media representation and admissions campaigns.

Mr Lartey previously attended Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon, where he studied General Science and was involved in the school's cadet corps, Robotics Club and Junior Achievement Club.

His previous technology projects include PYLO, a proposed floor-tile system using piezoelectric technology to generate electricity from footfall; Da Vinci, a drawing robot that converts digital images into machine-plotable geometry; and COHA, a campus health platform designed to support university health bays.

He is also a certified data-labelling specialist and completed a generative artificial intelligence internship programme in 2025.

The founders say the immediate objective is to establish a functioning marketplace in which sellers can create stores, customers can make purchases and deliveries can be completed reliably.

The initiative comes as Ghana's digital economy continues to create opportunities for young entrepreneurs to develop technology-driven solutions to challenges in commerce, logistics and access to markets.

The platform is accessible at pantastore.com.