Grace Ene
MarketForce has revealed that it is raising $1 million through WeFunder, one year after announcing the close of its $40 million Series A.
We’re doing this because we think a company like MarketForce offers the chance to generate financial upside, not only for the merchants and partners that we serve, but also for people who understand and believe that what we are building is important for Africa. “When we started this journey of Marketforce, we committed to building an exceptional African company that empowers African people, communities, and economies.
The startup Marketforce is taking bets starting at $1,000 under the same conditions as its Series A round. But it also states that not every investor will get their desired return.
Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti founded MarketForce in 2018, a B2B marketplace that offers financial and distribution services to businesses. The business started in Kenya and has since expanded to neighboring nations like Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda. Additionally, it operates in Nigeria.
According to its Capitalize listing, the Y Combinator-backed startup offers services to more than 200,000 merchants in these five nations, and its revenue increased from $140,000 in 2021 to $2.5 million in 2022. Additionally, it intends to expand its services to four more nations.
MarketForce aimed to have a million merchants using its merchant super app, RejaReja, by the end of 2022 when it raised its Series A in 2022. These plans, however, were jeopardized when some investors failed to provide the startup with all of the promised equity investment.
In response, it fired 250 workers and reorganized its operations to maximize profitability. The startup’s CEO, Mbaabu, said in an interview with TechCrunch in May 2023 that it had cut the number of routes it covered from 700 to 400 to increase efficiency. He also said that the business was on track to achieve its highest-ever revenue levels.
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