Kenyan-founded business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce firm Wasoko will inject up to $1 million (Sh137.1 million) in its expansion drive to raid the southern African market of Zambia.
The firm made the announcement via its LinkedIn profile, saying the investment will cover its first year of operations as it seeks to leverage e-commerce technology in delivering essential goods to Zambian businesses and communities.
“We’re thrilled to announce our expansion into Zambia, our first location in Southern Africa! The goal in Zambia is to revolutionise the retail supply chain by introducing a fully digitised model that will allow customers to place 100 percent of their orders via our customer app,” said Wasoko.
“We aim to make the life of our customers in Zambia easier by removing layers to distribution, offering affordable prices, and services.”
The firm has, as a consequence, launched its central hub in Lusaka, which it says is a strategy aimed at driving strong operational efficiency and boosting capacity for faster regional expansions.
Wasoko provides same-day delivery of essential goods and financing to informal African retail stores, enabling retailers to order products at their convenience via SMS or mobile app.
“With high smartphone usage and a pro-business government administration keen on expanding the country’s digital economy, Zambia is an ideal environment to launch our model and strongly aligns with our current core markets,” said Wasoko founder and CEO Daniel Yu.
The firm boasts a registered presence in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, with Zambia, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire touted as the first viable markets outside East Africa.
The latest development marks a new milestone for a company that raised a $125 million (Sh17.1 billion) series B round in March last year, the largest venture financing round ever raised for a non-fintech start-up in Africa.
It is in stark contrast with the trend witnessed among Kenyan tech start-ups that have been seen to struggle to break even in recent months.
A Business Daily analysis shows that at least seven tech newbies have gone under in less than a year.
