Sendy, a Kenyan logistics scale-up that enabled retailers to buy FMCGs instantly from producers, amongst different providers, is shutting down its operations and exploring a sale of its belongings, TechCrunch has discovered.
Meshack Alloys, Sendy co-founder, confirmed the sale to TechCrunch with out providing extra particulars, saying: “We’re in the midst of an acquisition course of. So sure, Sendy is being acquired. We’ll problem a proper joint assertion in two weeks or so time. Within the meantime, we’re unable to touch upon additional particulars right now.”
In line with a number of sources, the corporate ran out of money two months in the past and had been scrambling to chop prices for the previous 12 months to stay afloat. Final July, it introduced a ten% reduce of its workforce, which Alloys famous was in response to the “present realities impacting tech corporations globally.” Since then, nevertheless, Sendy’s workforce has been pruned additional in additional cost-cutting measures (shuttering a product line and exiting a market). Final October, the Kenyan startup laid off 54 workers and closed its provide service — and this February, it introduced that it was exiting its end-to-end achievement providing in Nigeria, a promote it entered two years in the past.
Sendy’s struggles marked the newest setback for a crop of B2B e-commerce corporations that loved a positive run, elevating tens of millions of {dollars} and ballooning in worth, however have since run into operational prices and marginal buyer pricing issues.
Final November, the Toyota-backed logistics upstart raised undisclosed funding from MOL PLUS, the company enterprise capital of Japanese transport firm Mitsui O.S.Okay. Strains. Because the deal, Sendy, for its half, has been exploring different choices to shore up its enterprise these previous few months, together with lining up recent capital a couple of months in the past and sounding out patrons, three folks accustomed to the matter mentioned. However that hasn’t come simple. The Kenyan startup, valued at over $80 million late final 12 months, was in talks with a number of traders to boost extra capital a couple of months again to maintain its operations operating however at a decrease valuation of $40-60 million. Nonetheless, considered one of its key traders backed out of the transaction, leaving Sendy quick on funds for the final two to a few months. Because of this, a number of workers are due pay for these months, and the corporate is trying to promote a few of its belongings, the folks mentioned.
Moreover, the pool of potential patrons is small. In line with folks accustomed to the corporate’s dealings, Sendy is in talks with different African corporations within the B2B e-commerce and trucking house, together with Trella, Sabi, Wasoko, and considered one of its traders, to promote a few of its belongings, together with tech and achievement operations. It’s unclear if any of the talks have resulted in a deal, and discussions on varied choices might nonetheless be ongoing, together with an acquisition, as claimed by the startup.
Sendy, co-founded in 2015 by Alloy, Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth and Malaika Judd, had focused to boost $100 million final 12 months however fell wanting doing so. It has raised $26.5 million in disclosed funding from a number of traders, together with Toyota Tsusho, Atlantica Ventures, VestedWorld, Keppel Capital, Enza Capital, AAICA Funding Pte Ltd, Sunu Capital and Goodwill Investments.