SMS API Tanzania — Send Your First Message in 5 Minutes

Why Use a Local SMS API for Tanzania?

International SMS APIs (Twilio, Vonage, Bandwidth) route messages to Tanzania through regional aggregators. Each hop adds latency and cost. For use cases where speed matters — OTP codes, fraud alerts, payment confirmations — a 5–15 second delay is the difference between a customer completing a transaction and abandoning it.

Sakura SMS routes directly to every Tanzanian carrier:

• Vodacom Tanzania — direct SMPP connection
• Airtel Tanzania — direct SMPP connection
• Tigo Tanzania — direct SMPP connection
• Halotel — direct SMPP connection
• TTCL — direct connection

Average delivery: 0.3 seconds. No international hops. Pricing in TZS.

Quickstart — Send SMS in 5 Minutes

Step 1: Sign up and get your API key

Create a free account — no credit card required. Your API key is generated immediately in the dashboard under Settings → API Keys. You receive 20 free messages to start.

Step 2: Send your first message

// Node.js / JavaScript
const response = await fetch("https://sakurasms.com/api/v1/messages", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    sender_id: "MYAPP",
    message: "Your verification code is 8421. Valid for 10 minutes.",
    recipients: ["255712345678"]
  })
})

const data = await response.json()
console.log(data.message_id) // e.g. "msg_01J3K..."

Step 3: Check delivery status

curl https://sakurasms.com/api/v1/messages/msg_01J3K... \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here"

Core API Endpoints

Webhooks — Get Delivery Receipts in Real Time

Instead of polling for status, configure a webhook URL to receive delivery events as they happen:

# Register your webhook in the dashboard:
# Settings → Webhooks → Add Endpoint
# URL: https://yourapp.com/webhooks/sakura-sms
# Events: message.delivered, message.failed, message.undeliverable

All webhook payloads are signed with HMAC-SHA256 using your webhook secret. Verify before processing.

Sending Bulk SMS via API

Send to multiple recipients in a single request:

const response = await fetch("https://sakurasms.com/api/v1/messages", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": "Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here",
    "Content-Type": "application/json"
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    sender_id: "MYSTORE",
    message: "Flash sale! 20% off all items today only. Shop now: mystore.co.tz",
    recipients: [
      "255712345678",
      "255754321098",
      "255767890123",
      // ... up to 10,000 recipients per request
    ]
  })
})

Each recipient gets an individual message_id for delivery tracking. The API returns immediately — delivery happens asynchronously via webhooks.

Scheduled SMS

Send at a future time using scheduled_at:

body: JSON.stringify({
  sender_id: "MYAPP",
  message: "Reminder: Your appointment is tomorrow at 2pm.",
  recipients: ["255712345678"],
  scheduled_at: "2026-07-02T10:00:00+03:00" // EAT timezone
})

The message is queued and dispatched at the specified time. Cancel via DELETE /api/v1/messages/:id before the scheduled time.

Sandbox / Test Mode

Test your integration without sending real SMS or spending credits. Add ?test=true to any send request:

curl -X POST "https://sakurasms.com/api/v1/messages?test=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "sender_id": "TEST", "message": "Test message", "recipients": ["255712345678"] }'

Response is identical to a live send, but no SMS is dispatched and no credit is deducted. Sandbox sends are logged in your dashboard for inspection.

Rate Limits

Rate limit headers are returned on every response: X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset.

Full API Documentation

Complete reference including all parameters, error codes, and SDK guides at sakurasms.com/developers.