Sema Link Docs

Appearance

Pricing & Agent / Reseller Model ​

Sema Link purchases SMS capacity in bulk from Celcom Africa at a negotiated wholesale rate. This bulk buying is what allows Sema Link to offer competitive per-SMS pricing to customers and agents.

Direct Customers ​

A direct customer is a business that signs up on the Sema Link platform and sends SMS to their own recipients.

Pricing: Sema Link agrees a per-SMS rate with each customer. High-volume customers negotiate lower rates.

Pricing: Agreed per-SMS rate between Sema Link and the customer, set in the Internal Admin App. Sema Link can see the full customer list, their rates, and consumption — this data informs how Sema Link calibrates pricing across the customer base.

Payment terms — two models:

ModelHow it works
PrepayCustomer tops up a credit balance before sending. SMS are deducted as they are sent. Sending is blocked when balance reaches zero.
PostpayCustomer sends on credit. Sema Link invoices at the end of the billing period. A credit limit is agreed upfront.

Agents (Resellers) ​

An agent is a business or individual that comes to Sema Link with their own customers they want to manage and provide SMS services to. The agent acts as the service provider to their customers — Sema Link provides the infrastructure and SMS capacity, the agent owns the customer relationship entirely.

How the Agent Model Works ​

Celcom Africa  →  Sema Link  →  Agent  →  Agent's Customers
  (bulk SMS)       (resells)   (resells)    (end senders)
  1. Sema Link agrees a wholesale per-SMS rate and payment terms (prepay or postpay) with the agent — set in the Internal Admin App
  2. The agent sets their own per-SMS rate for each of their customers directly in the Agent Portal — Sema Link can see these rates in the Internal Admin App but does not enforce or invoice based on them
  3. Agent's customers send SMS through the Customer Web App or REST API; cost is drawn from the agent's Sema Link balance at the wholesale rate
  4. The agent handles billing, invoicing, and support for their own customers independently

Pricing Structure Example ​

Celcom Africa wholesale  →  KES 0.40/SMS  (Sema Link's cost)
Sema Link → Agent rate   →  KES 0.60/SMS  (agreed with agent)
Agent → Customer rate    →  KES 0.90/SMS  (agent decides, not tracked by Sema Link)

Agent margin per SMS     →  KES 0.30
Sema Link margin per SMS →  KES 0.20

Responsibilities Split ​

ResponsibilitySema LinkAgent
SMS infrastructure & delivery✓
Aggregator relationship (Celcom)✓
Platform & API✓
Sender ID configuration (on Admin App)✓
Billing the agent✓
Onboarding agent's customers✓
Support for agent's customers✓
Setting and collecting customer pricing✓
Invoicing agent's customers✓

Support boundary: If one of an agent's customers has a delivery failure or issue, Sema Link does not deal with that customer directly. Everything goes through the agent.

Where Agent Customers Log In ​

Agent's customers use the same Customer Web App (app.semalink.africa) as direct customers — with their own login credentials, sender IDs, and API keys. The only difference is their sends draw from the agent's Sema Link balance rather than their own.

The agent creates and manages their customer accounts from the Agent Portal. Those customers then use the Customer Web App independently, with no visibility into the agent relationship or the agent's other customers.

Agent Portal (agents.semalink.africa)
    └── Agent creates / manages customer accounts
            │
            ▼
Customer Web App (app.semalink.africa)
    └── Agent's customers log in here — send SMS, view reports, manage contacts

Sender IDs ​

Agent's customers submit and manage their sender ID requests through the platform (Customer Web App). The actual configuration and approval of sender IDs is done by the Sema Link team via the Internal Admin App — sender IDs are not self-service; they require Sema Link admin action.

Account Hierarchy ​

Sema Link (platform owner)
    ├── Direct Customer A  (prepay or postpay)
    ├── Direct Customer B  (prepay or postpay)
    └── Agent Account  (prepay or postpay with Sema Link)
            ├── Agent's Customer 1  (logs into Customer Web App)
            ├── Agent's Customer 2  (logs into Customer Web App)
            └── Agent's Customer 3  (logs into Customer Web App)
  • All sends by the agent's customers draw from the agent's Sema Link balance
  • If the agent's balance runs out, all their customers' sends are blocked
  • Agent's customers have no visibility into each other or into the agent's balance

Agent Portal Features ​

The Agent Portal (agents.semalink.africa) gives agents visibility into:

  • Balance — current SMS credit balance and payment terms with Sema Link
  • Top-up — M-Pesa or bank transfer (for prepay agents)
  • Customers — create, configure, and deactivate customer accounts
  • Per-customer pricing — set the per-SMS rate charged to each sub-customer (this rate is visible to Sema Link in the Internal Admin App)
  • Per-customer usage — SMS volume and spend per customer, per day/month
  • Invoices — billing statements from Sema Link

Internal Admin Visibility ​

The Internal Admin App gives the Sema Link team full visibility into all pricing and consumption data — this is critical for making informed decisions about wholesale rates, customer pricing, and agent margins.

  • View all direct customers: their agreed per-SMS rate, credit balance, payment terms, and consumption
  • View all agents: their wholesale rate, balance, payment terms, and total consumption
  • View all sub-customers under each agent, including the per-customer rate the agent has set — this informs Sema Link's understanding of agent margin and helps negotiate future wholesale pricing
  • Adjust direct customer rates and credit limits
  • Approve and configure sender IDs for any account
  • Suspend or reinstate accounts
  • Apply manual credit adjustments and overrides
  • View aggregate data: total platform revenue, margins per customer/agent, volume by MNO and country

Internal use only — Sema Link Engineering