Kenyan B2B e-commerce startup MarketForce has shut down operations in three of its five markets in Africa. The startup is exiting Nigeria, Rwanda, and Tanzania and will now remain operational only in Kenya and Uganda with Kenya remaining its headquarters.
Details
According to a report by The Kenyan WallStreet, the firm is now exploring other business models which include venturing into the social commerce space.
“Marketforce has downscaled operations in other markets and is now just operational in Kenya and Uganda,” CEO Tesh Mbaabu, told The Kenyan WallStreet.
Background
MarketForce was founded in 2018 by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti to empower informal merchants in Africa to order, pay and receive inventory digitally and conveniently, access financing, collect digital payments and make extra money by reselling digital financial services such as airtime, electricity tokens and bill payments.
MarketForce runs an asset-light operating model with the merchant super app, RejaReja – which offers informal merchants next-day delivery for hundreds of SKUs from the leading FMCG brands.
Digging Deeper
Marketforce is among the African startups that have been hit by a funding drought forcing it to explore alternative avenues for financial support and revenue generation.
Recent data released by Disrupt Africa shows that African tech startups experienced a significant decline in capital raised in Q1 of 2023 compared to the same period last year. In Q1 of 2023, African startups raised $649 million, while in the same period in 2022, startups raised $1.5 billion.
Mbaabu says that narrow profit margins in demanding markets like Nigeria, where servicing costs are high and competition is intense have also contributed to this.
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