New buyer comes to the rescue of Kenya's e-commerce platform Sky.Garden
In September this year, we reported that one of Kenya’s most popular e-commerce marketplace Sky.Garden may be closing down after failing to raise a much-needed funding round.
According to reports, Sky.Garden’s co-founder Martin Majlund had already served employees with termination notices, after indicating earlier that the company was running out of money. October 16th was slated as the last day for the employees at the firm.
The firm might have found a footing and might not be shutting down after all after it announced this week that it has found a buyer. CEO/CPO & Co-Founder Martin Majlund via his LinkedIn page announced that they have found a buyer for the company. Majlund in the lengthy post said that they’ve managed to preserve jobs even as the company rolls into new owners and new management.
“Sky.Garden lives on!” Majlund wrote, “Today, I’m happy to announce that we’ve found an acquirer for the IP and the Kenyan company. Sky.Garden will live on with new owners and new management.”
The former CEO didn’t reveal who the new owners are, but there are all indications that he will have nothing to do with the company going forward.
Sky.Garden started operations in 2017 but failed to raise enough revenue to become profitable or support its business model. The platform connects small businesses to buyers in an end-to-end system that encourages DIY process. It gains revenue by charging 8% on every successful transaction.
“It’s about the Journey – Not the Destination. And I know other startup founders may disagree with me on this one. But for me, it has never been about money. But the people and the process. “ Majlund wrote.
Despite the very vibrant and promising nature of many African economies, it has not been a smooth ride for most startups. Generally, there has been increased interest from foreign investors, but only a small percentage of total global funding flows into Africa. This year has been particularly tough for startups as hard economic times led to a slow flow of investments from VCs.
In 2021, African startups raised only raised just 0.8% of all venture dollars although it was the best year for the industry as investments hit $5.2 billion, according to a report by Crunchbase.
This year, startups in Kenya accumulated nearly one billion dollars ($820 million) in the first half of 2022. It has been a year of mixed fortunes, as some gained significantly while others lost, such as Kune Foods which was forced to shut down.
