Sendy, the Kenya Fulfillment and logistics startup is reportedly up for sale. Techcabal reports that the startup is currently at an advanced stage with an unknown potential buyer and is hoping to make the official announcement soon.
Sendy co-founder Meshack Alloys has indeed confirmed the sale to TechCrunch saying the startup was indeed being acquired.
“We are in the middle of an acquisition process. So yes, Sendy is being acquired. We will issue a formal joint statement in two weeks or so time. In the meantime, we are unable to comment on further details at this time.” he told TechCrunch.
Founded in 2014, Sendy initially offered a marketplace for last-mile package delivery and logistics services. In 2021 though, the startup expanded into the fulfillment service space targeting e-commerce and direct-to-consumer businesses that do not have storage or delivery systems. In February this year, it also unveiled a Payment on Delivery product for e-commerce and social commerce vendors in Africa, in a bid to enhance secure online shopping across the continent.
Even with these offerings, the startup has been facing a lot of sustainability challenges, a move that saw it send home 10% of its workforce in August 2022.
In October of the same year, Sendy wound down its Supply service. The startup said it will now lay more emphasis on its Fulfilment Service and provide more streamlined services to its business clients. The move came after the firm failed to raise $100 million funding it had targeted to get that year only raising a small portion from MOL PLUS the Corporate Venture Capital of Japanese transport firm Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL). The startup went ahead and laid off a further 20% of its workforce.
Sendy Supply was initially built to make it possible for retailers to purchase affordable stocks directly from manufacturers and distributors. The CEO said the turbulence witnessed in the e-commerce market today was part of what informed the decision to shut it down.
It’s not clear who the new buyer is. Techcrunch however reports that Sendy has been having conversations with other African companies in the B2B e-commerce and trucking space for the acquisition.
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