Kenyan logistics start-up Sendy goes on sale

Troubled Kenyan logistics start-up Sendy is up for sale.

Sendy operates an app linking delivery drivers with customers. The app coordinates contract drivers who own their vehicles while confirming deliveries, creating performance metrics and managing payment.

Mesh Alloys, co-founder and CEO of the start-up has told the American technology outlet TechCrunch that they are in the middle of an acquisition by an undisclosed buyer, with an announcement expected soon.

“We are in the middle of an acquisition process. So yes, Sendy is being acquired,” said Alloys, who founded the company in 2015 with his fellow Kenyans Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth as well as American Malaika Judd.

“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.”

The business-to-business (B2B) company had been cutting down operating costs for the past year to remain afloat. It reportedly ran out of funds two months ago.

Last year, the company sent home close to 30 per cent of its workforce and put its expansion plans into western and southern Africa on hold. Sendy had said it sought to raise Ksh.12 billion ($100 million) in 2022 to expand into Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Egypt.

At the close of 2022, it announced it had received undisclosed funding from MOL PLUS, the investment arm of Japanese transport company MOL, to rescue itself.

Some of Sendy’s previous investors include local telecoms operator Safaricom, Toyota East Africa and Dutch investor DOB Equity. In a previous interview, the company said half of its staff were in engineering.

In January 2020, Sendy raised Ksh.2.3 billion ($20 million) in a Series B round backed by Toyota Tsusho Corporation.

Per Crunchbase, the company has so far raised a total of Ksh.3.1 billion ($26.5 million) from 14 investors.