Setup and Connection
Complete Meta onboarding and make the WABA connection ready in the Notify Africa Portal.
WhatsApp account setup is managed in the Notify Africa Portal. It is not part of the API-key-authenticated Developer API.
Setup Flow
Portal Actions
- Sign in to the Notify Africa Portal.
- Enable or purchase WhatsApp access for the account.
- Start Meta Embedded Signup from the WhatsApp setup screen.
- Authorize the Meta business and WhatsApp assets.
- Select the phone number used for outbound messages.
- Return to the Portal and wait for connection checks.
- Resolve every blocking reason before API traffic.
- Create a WABA-authorized API key.
Readiness
The Portal evaluates:
- connected WhatsApp Business Account.
- selected phone number.
- usable provider credentials.
- WhatsApp account review.
- display-name approval.
- phone-number verification.
- provider webhook configuration.
- provider webhook subscription.
- connection-level blocking reasons.
Do not start production traffic until the Portal reports the connection as ready.
Connection States
| State | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
pending | Setup or provider approval is incomplete | Resolve the Portal blockers |
ready | Required connection data is available | Create/use a WABA API key |
disconnected | Notify Africa no longer has an active connection | Reconnect in the Portal |
API Key Setup
Create the API key in the Portal after the connection is ready.
- Enable WABA access explicitly.
- Copy the full value when it is displayed.
- Store it in a server-side secret manager.
- Use separate keys for test and production environments.
- Regenerate or revoke a key from the Portal when compromised.
An API key created without WABA access cannot call the WABA Developer API.
Developer Webhook Setup
Configure the endpoint in the Portal:
- HTTPS callback URL.
- optional description.
- subscribed event types.
- endpoint state.
Store the generated whsec_... signing secret when it is shown. Create and rotation actions return the secret once.
An empty event subscription receives no production events.
Connection Impact
If the connection loses credentials, its selected phone number, or provider readiness:
- template creation fails readiness validation.
- template synchronization can fail.
- queued message sends can fail before provider acceptance.
- webhook endpoint activation can be blocked in the Portal.
Return to the Portal to repair the connection. Do not add WABA or phone-number IDs to Developer API send bodies.