NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 6 – Logistic firm Sendy has sent 20 per cent of its employees home after stopping its retail and supplier trading platform.
The closure comes at a time when local start-ups are struggling to raise funds as international investors hold bank on new investment amid high lending rates.
Sendy says it will no longer be suppling stocks to kiosks and other business directly from manufacturers and distributors and instead focus on sellers using their platform for marketing, storage and deliveries.
“In line with this, we have paused the Sendy Supply service, our solution that provides a platform for general retailers to purchase stock at competitive prices from multiple suppliers and manufacturers. This has effectively affected 20% of our headcount,” Sendy Founder and CEO Mesh Alloys said.
According to the Africa Tech Startups 2020 Funding report, the firm raised Sh2.4 billion ($20 million).
Sendy is among Kenyan start-ups that have been letting go their employees amid cash float problem.
Some of the other firms that have shut their operations down in Kenya include Notify (running a rent-a-shelf) as well as Kune (an online food tech).
“This move is part of our wider strategic focus to consolidate efforts around solutions that impact more customers and speak to the current and immediate market challenges,”
“Our path forward is to aggressively grow our core business – Sendy Fulfillment through deepening customer value. We believe that this consolidated service offers a massive opportunity in solving challenges that businesses large and small face with warehousing packaging and last mile delivery,” Alloys added.
