Like a seesaw, the African tech ecosystem in 2022 was full of ups and downs. First, he began the year with many very lofty predictions, but as the months passed, these lofty predictions were eclipsed by unprecedented events. .
For example, in 2022, African startups raised a record $4.84 billion, up 7.6% from 2021’s $4.46 billion. The recorded low growth is not unrelated to the global economic meltdown. wave of tech layoffs on the continent last year.
As startups battled this global crisis, the continent’s economic realities compounded their problems. Many African countries were battling rapid inflation and currency depreciation. In addition to these, talented individuals were also leaving the continent in search of greener pastures.
All these complexities have had a negative impact on the continent’s rapidly growing tech ecosystem. failed to do so and eventually closed. With them, a solid business he learns that, beyond ideas and funding, many other factors can prevent a business from surviving. Here are some of the African startups we lost in 2022.
Kune Foods – Kenya
Kune Food, a food tech startup founded by Robin Reecht in December 2020, has closed in Kenya after just one year in business.
At the beginning of 2021, the startup piloted in Kenya before officially going live later that year. In mid-2021, he raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to bring affordable and delicious meals to Kenyans. With ambitious goals, Kune’s leadership has declared his intention to raise $3.5 million in his second round from local and international investors to increase production capacity. Sadly, the startup shut down last year due to stifling economic conditions manifested as food inflation.
so LinkedIn post, startup founder and CEO Robin Reecht said: But $3 per serving wasn’t enough to sustain growth… Rising food costs combined with hurting profit margins meant we couldn’t keep going,” he wrote. I’m here.
Sweep South – Nigeria
Last November, South African online house cleaning service SweepSouth suspended operations in Nigeria. Co-founded in Cape Town by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic in 2014, SweepSouth has a presence in her four major tech markets in Africa. It will start operations in 2021 and has since entered the Kenyan and Egyptian markets. In 2022, the company will launch services in Nigeria.
None of SweepSouth’s recent efforts suggest it will disappear from the market anytime soon. Earlier this year, SweepSouth acquired his FilKhedma, an Egyptian home service platform.Nine months after this acquisition, the company raised money $11 million With maximum pre-seed funding. The startup receives 40,000 bookings monthly across his three markets of South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.
According to the company, the home services industry is suffocating under an unfavorable global macroeconomic environment and unable to operate sustainably due to economic pressures.
“The unfavorable global macroeconomic environment continues to take a heavy toll on the home services industry. increase.”
“While we are ending our operations in Nigeria, we will continue to keep abreast of our activities in the Nigerian market and work towards the possibility of re-entering the market at a later date.”
WeFarm Shop – Kenya
last year, we farm shop Due to the deterioration of the market environment, the store was forced to close just one year after its establishment. Founded by Kenny Ewan in 2014, the mission-driven tech startup serves as a platform for billions of smallholder farmers around the world.
The WeFarm shop has an app developed by the company that helps farmers buy produce online and share reviews. In 2021, he raised $11 million to connect small farmers. The company started in East Africa, 2.5 million farmers It is sold in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and that market has generated $29 million in sales.
In a statement to WeFarm’s Director of Growth, CIO Africa, Sofie Mala confirmed that WeFarm shops were forced to close due to unfavorable market conditions.
“Our shop has experienced incredible demand and growth over the past nine months, but the current market conditions make it difficult to launch and scale this path. On behalf of us, we feel very lucky to have partnered with an amazing farmer and feel very lucky to have been able to serve thousands of farmers across the counties of Kenya with our shop.” she said.
Crowdcommerce – Nigeria
One year after winning a $765,000 pre-seed in May 2021 to build a multi-channel commerce solution for businesses in Africa, Kloud Commerce closed its operations in Nigeria.
Founded by Olumide Olusanya, Kloud Commerce is a direct-to-consumer (D2C) that helps brands sell directly to and build relationships with African consumers. The startup crash was due to the mismanagement and misuse of company funds.
Ann Survey report by Weetracker The startup revealed that it was getting funding to deliver a non-existent or underperforming product, inflating the salaries of the employees working on it. The article further reveals that the startup’s investors are petitioning Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate its founder and CEO Olumide Olusanya, who was accused of fraud and embezzlement of funds. bottom.
Notify Logistics – Kenya
After five years of operation, Notify Logistics, a startup operating a rental shelf model, closed last year due to high operating costs. The company was founded in 2018 by Waweru Nderitu and Hellen Waweru.
Last August, the company announced it had raised 45 million shillings in a seed round to foster growth in entrepreneurial ventures and its retail sector.
The company’s model is built by leasing space and renting it out to the many small businesses that can’t afford a physical retail outlet or hire someone other than the founder/owner of the business. I was. This became unsustainable as operating costs skyrocketed.
