NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 27 – Kenyan-founded business-to-business (B-2-B) e-commerce platform Wasoko has finalized a merger with Egyptian online retailer MaxAB, allowing the two entities to form a pan-African entity.
The deal, which involves an all-stock transaction, is Africa’s biggest merger with a combined network of B-2-B informal retailers of more than 450,000 merchants, serving over 65 million consumers in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Morocco.
This comes after the two firms signed merger preliminary terms in Q4 of 2023, paving the way for the incorporation.
“Building on burgeoning trade ties between North and East Africa, this deal unifies the leading B2B players in both regions, establishing an unmatched platform for serving communities across the continent,” Daniel Yu, Co-CEO at Wasoko and MaxAB, says.
“Through our integrated technology stack, our expanded Pan-African reach uniquely positions us to offer the best products and services from across Africa at maximum accessibility and affordability, supercharging our growth beyond what either company could achieve independently.”
MaxAB was founded by Mohamed Ben Halim in 2018 as a platform to connect suppliers with traditional retailers as well as offer financing solutions.
The Cairo-headquartered company’s digital services currently generate $180 million in annualized sales to 7 million consumers through 40,000 retailers.
On the other hand, Wasoko began its infancy in Kenya before expanding to other countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, and Zanzibar, among others.
Africa’s e-commerce ecosystem is estimated at about $600 billion, offering more investment opportunities for startups.
With over 4,000 employees, the combined company will be led by Yu, CEO of Wasoko, and El-Megharbel, CEO of MaxAB, who will serve as co-CEOs and company board directors alongside existing Wasoko and MaxAB investors.
Other key shareholders of the combined company include late-stage growth investors such as Silver Lake, Tiger Global, Lunate, VNV Global, British International Investment, and Avenir Growth, alongside leading regional and global venture investors such as Beco Capital, 4DX Ventures, Quona Capital, Amplo, Breyer Capital, AHL Ventures, Endure Capital, and Flourish Ventures.
“This merger proves that massive, world-class tech companies can be built in Africa for Africa,” says Belal El-Megharbel, Co-CEO at Wasoko and MaxAB.
“As first-movers, we fully embrace our responsibility to drive the development of a mature and thriving ecosystem, building foundational infrastructure that will empower future companies to fully unlock Africa’s vast economic potential in years to come.”
