Kenya-based e-commerce startup SkyGarden will not exit the local market as earlier announced after it was acquired by an unnamed investor, chief executive Martin Majlund has announced.
Last month, the firm filed for insolvency after it failed to raise extra capital in September, putting the jobs of its 46-member staff on the line.
“Five years after launching, Kenyan e-commerce platform SkyGarden, may have to stop operations following a failed funding round,” the company announced last month.
Mr Majlund, in a social media post on his LinkedIn account on Sunday said the firm will continue to operate under new owners and management.
“Last month management saw no other options than file for insolvency. I’m happy to announce that we’ve found an acquirer for the IP and the Kenyan company. SkyGarden will continue to operate with new owners and new management,” said Majlund.
In an interview with American technology publication TechCrunch towards the end of September, Majlund said he had already served employees with termination notices after the firm had failed to break even, indicating then that the venture would shut down on October 16 should it fail to bag an acquisition deal.
Sky Garden is an online marketplace that connects small businesses to buyers in an end-to-end system that encourages the Do-it-Yourself (DIY) model of business. It generates income by charging eight percent on every successful transaction.
The company was co-founded in 2017 by Majlund and Christian Grubak to help retail stores digitise online and offline sales.
Last year, SkyGarden raised $4 million (Sh487 million) in a Series A round of funding from venture capitalists to accelerate growth in the country, raising the total funding secured since inception to $5.2 million (Sh634 million).
Difficult market conditions as well as funding hitches have wiped out at least six Kenyan tech start-ups this year alone.
