Last October, Sendy, a Kenyan logistics extension, ended its delivery service that allowed retailers to purchase FMCG direct from manufacturers, saying it was turning its full focus to its compliance offering.
Months later, the company closes operations in Nigeria, one of its four markets in Africa. That means it will no longer fulfill orders in the West African country, but has instead become a “fully integrated technology solution” that connects online shoppers with the right logistics providers. In other markets, the fulfillment service remains unchanged.
The new changes mean Sendy is moving away from its high-asset model, which has made it easy to fulfill orders from parcel pick-up to warehousing and last-mile delivery in Nigeria. The company, which was founded in Nigeria in late 2021, said the move was necessary as it needed to find the right type of product for the market.
Sendy closes field service in Nigeria
It was not immediately clear how many workers would be affected by the closure of about 220 employees, but Sendy confirmed that there will be some job losses in his latest round of layoffs.
“Compliance remains at the heart of what Sendy does. We don’t run. In Nigeria, we decided to stop field sales and focus on the right product. This means that we will continue to connect sellers with logistics providers, but we will no longer ship their products,” said Daniel Edeimu, Managing Director of Sendy Nigeria.
“As a fully integrated technology solution, Sendy will take orders through e-commerce plugins, ERPs or APIs and help find the best logistics partners and advise sellers,” Edeimu said, adding that the company plans to provide additional services offer, such as financial services. and showcase
Founded in 2015 by Kenyans Evanson Biwott and Don Okoth and American Malaika Judd, Sendy has in recent months shifted its focus to its markets, including Kenya, Uganda and Ivory Coast, in an effort to improve efficiency while improving macroeconomic performance. circumstances that hindered fundraising.
It aimed to raise $100 million last year and managed to raise some undisclosed funds from MOL PLUS, corporate venture capital of Japanese airline Mitsui OSK Lines, to expand its fulfillment offering, which is still the core service is in different markets.
“The investment was both financial and operational… On the operational side, Sendy and MOL are working together to remove infrastructure and other operational barriers to serving our customers. As mentioned above, Sendy is seeing incredible growth in countries that have reached product market maturity. Partners such as MOL improve our ability to meet demand,” said Edeimu.
To date, Sendy has raised $26.5 million in publicly disclosed funds from several investors, including Toyota Tsusho, Atlantica Ventures, VestedWorld, Keppel Capital, Enza Capital, AAICA Investment Pte Ltd, Sunu Capital and Goodwill Investments.
Source: La Neta Neta
Jason Jack is an experienced technology journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in computer science and engineering, he has a deep understanding of the latest technology trends and developments. He writes about a wide range of technology topics, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, software development, and cybersecurity.
