Sendy Receives Investment From MOL PLUS Weeks After Laying Off 30% Of Its Workforce
The Kenyan fulfilment and logistics company provide an easy way for businesses of any size to move goods, with thousands of companies using its platforms and APIs to sell and deliver goods fulfilment consumers.
Sendy has announced funding from MOL PLUS, the corporate VC arm of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, as part of a new undisclosed round to help it scale fulfilment in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast.
Sendy provides an easy way for businesses of any size to move goods, with thousands of companies using its platforms and APIs to sell and deliver goods to their consumers. The company was founded in Kenya and has since grown to Uganda, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, with plans to expand across Africa in the near future.
Between August and October, the company laid off 84 employees, about 28% of its 300-strong workforce, in two phases. In September, the company shut down the last of its B2C offerings, becoming a fully B2B company, and then shut down one of its core products, Sendy Supply, in October.
Mesh Alloys, Sendy Founder and CEO said: “The opportunities to improve logistics and supply chain inefficiencies across Africa are great. We believe our financial and operational partnership with MOL PLUS and MOL Logistics will drive a huge impact not only for the growth of Sendy and its fulfilment network but also for the merchants we serve as we continue to offer more value-add and solutions to help them grow and trade more. We will work with MOL Logistics to leverage their strengths and expertise in logistics and cross-border fulfilment, to grow our services and the network of businesses we serve.”
The coming together of Sendy and MOL paves the way for synergies that will simplify logistics for business. MOL will partner with Sendy to provide its customers in shipping and freight with additional mid-mile and last-mile services.
Takuya Sakamoto, a representative of MOL PLUS said: “We were very specific in choosing to invest in Sendy because of the solution that they offer; we share a common goal. We all want to democratise logistics and support businesses in Africa to move their goods reliably and affordably. We look forward to an exciting partnership with Sendy as we forge this joint mission. We endeavour to work with partners with innovative ideas like Sendy through creating synergies and collaborations that will generate value.”