Nigeria’s retail startup, Renda, has announced securing a $1.9 million pre-seed round of equity and debt funding to enable it enhance its offerings and drive expansion.

Renda, a technology solution startup that simplifies order fulfillment and retail distribution for businesses in Africa, secured the funds from Ingressive Capital which led the round, with participation from Techstars Toronto, Founders Factory Africa, Magic Fund, Golden Palm Investments, Reflect Ventures, and Vastly Valuable Ventures.

The startup’s co-founder and CEO, Ope Onaboye, who made the announcement, said they plan to utilize the funds to pursue its plans of expanding into more cities in Nigeria and Africa.

“Our vision at Renda is to become the largest and most trusted fulfillment partner for e-commerce and major businesses across Africa,” Onaboye said.

“Since inception, we have been privileged to work with some of the largest companies across manufacturing, FMCG, Agriculture and e-commerce sectors, enabling them to scale across Nigeria.

“We are grateful for the investors who have bought into the Renda vision and decided to partner with us as we build the future of commerce on the continent.

“I’m excited to see how we harness the power of technology to simplify and optimise order fulfillment and retail distribution for thousands of businesses across the continent,” he said.

Launched in January 2021 by Onaboye and Bimbo Onaboye, Renda allows businesses to access on-demand flexible storage across Africa, track and manage their inventory across all locations, process large volumes of orders for same-day delivery, manage and track all deliveries in real-time, and also manage and reconcile cash collections.

The platform is already powering much of Africa’s e-commerce sector, with customers including Omnibiz, MarketForce, Kyosk, Wabi, Jumia, and other major brands, according to the CEO.

He added that Renda will use the funding to technologically enhance its offerings, drive expansion to more cities in Nigeria and East Africa, and grow its partnership network across all active markets.

So far, the startup has empowered over 500 businesses across 15 states in Nigeria, while it expanded into Kenya last year.

Kenyan agri-tech startup, iProcure, has been placed under administration due to its inability to clear up undisclosed debts.

The advisory arm of global consulting firm, KPMG, has also been appointed the firm’s administrator, taking control of iProcure’s offices, assets, and operations, and managing all claims from creditors, according to the country’s regulatory authorities.

“Following the appointment, all the affairs and business and properties of the company are being managed by the Administrator,” KPMG said in a notice.

“The directors of the company no longer have any power or authority to deal with these matters.

“Any party having a claim against the company should submit their claim in writing, with relevant supporting documentation to the Administrator on or before May 14 2024 for consideration,” it added.

According to the regulations, the legal process of being put under administration provides a financially-challenged company with “breathing space”, freeing it from creditor enforcement actions while any possible financial restructuring takes place to rescue the company as a going concern, where possible.

iProcure which was launched in 2013, had developed its own distribution infrastructure, connecting major agricultural input suppliers directly to local agro-dealers via its proprietary distribution technology system.

By cutting out the multiple levels of middlemen in the traditional agricultural supply chain and providing technology-driven insights on supply levels and price, iProcure ensured the availability, quality, and delivery of critical agricultural inputs like fertilizers and seeds at up to 25 per cent discount from prevailing market prices.

The startup had previously raised a total of US$17.2 million in debt and equity funding, including a US$10.2 million Series B round in 2022, led by Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) with participation from Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), and Ceniarth.

Backed by Safaricom’s Spark Venture Fund, iProcure expanded to Tanzania last year, but it has become one of the latest victims of the global economic crisis, and resultant “funding winter”, and been placed under administration.

iProcure is the latest African tech venture to feel the heat in the current global capital shortage following a host of startups that have already closed their doors, while pressures remain on many others.