Twiga Foods snaps up stakes in 3 local distributors in Kenya

Bonjour,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Twiga Foods snaps up stakes in 3 local distributors
Vendease shuts down in Ghana after 2 years
Amazing sessions to look out for at Lagos Startup Expo 2.0

Vendease shuts down in Ghana after 2 years

Word on the street is that Vendease quietly closed shop in Ghana in October 2024. The Nigerian food supply startup had entered the Ghanaian market in 2023 after raising $30 million in Series A funding, hoping to replicate its success across borders.

The company’s marketplace model, which helps food businesses order and receive supplies, picked up well in Ghana. But behind the scenes, Vendease was also building out software tools like payments and point-of-sale systems. Unfortunately, those didn’t get the same traction.

Despite solid demand, Vendease’s Ghanaian team simply didn’t have enough funding to meet it. Talk of the town is that weekly demand sometimes exceeded $1 million, but the company could only deliver about 25% of those orders. Attempts to raise local funding to scale operations failed.

Speaking with Techpoint Africa, CEO Tunde Kara confirmed that the company pulled out after recovering its investment in Ghana within six months but couldn’t afford to keep up. “It wasn’t a demand issue,” he said. “We just couldn’t fund the growth anymore.”

Like many eCommerce startups, Vendease struggled with low margins. At first, it fulfilled every order, pr0fitable or not, but later shifted to only servicing ones that guaranteed returns. Its buy-now-pay-later model also hit a rough patch, with defaults forcing the company into legal battles.

Since then, the startup has made major internal changes. New CFO Mohamed Chaudry helped tighten things up: cutting the wage bill, revising payment terms, and improving loan recovery rates. With the eCommerce side scaled down, Vendease is now betting on its software suite for a comeback, even if, as Kara puts it, “we’re in the business of trying things out and seeing if they work.”

Amazing sessions to look out for at Lagos Startup Expo 2.0

A session at Lagos Startup Expo hosted by Techpoint Africa

The Lagos Startup Expo isn’t just another tech event; it’s where real learning and growth happen. This year’s Masterclass Series is stacked with hands-on sessions for founders, startup operators, and ecosystem enablers looking to tackle real challenges and scale smarter.

Over the course of two days, these masterclasses will dig deep into topics like building scalable products, cracking compliance for expansion, and staying ahead in a fast-changing world. These aren’t your typical “sit and listen” lectures; they’re packed with activities, group work, and real-life tools you can start using right away.

Day 1 focuses on building strong products and businesses. You’ll learn how to create investor-friendly financial models, build products that can scale across borders, and prepare your startup for the age of AI with tools like the Anti-Fragile Startup Canvas. It’s practical, not just theory.

Day 2 is all about regulation and growth. You’ll explore how to work with regulators (not against them), simplify the compliance side of cross-border expansion, and learn how to bootstrap a solid business even with limited funds. Each session includes live exercises, from policy design to using AI to audit your operations for savings.

What makes these sessions special is their interactive nature. With smaller groups (just 50 to 80 people per class), you’ll have plenty of time to ask questions, chat with facilitators, and connect with other attendees going through similar journeys.

Access to all these sessions is reserved for VIP ticket holders and exhibitors only. If you want in, now’s the time. Early-bird discounts are still running until April 30. Head to lagosstartupexpo.com/#tickets to grab your VIP pass and get ready for two days of practical, game-changing learning.

Twiga Foods snaps up stakes in 3 local distributors

Twiga Foods, a Kenyan agritech food, has just snapped up majority stakes in three local distributors: Jumra (Nairobi), Sojpar (Kisumu), and Raisons (Mombasa). This marks a clear pivot from its farm-fresh produce roots into a broader FMCG play, as it chases dominance in the B2B eCommerce space. The acquisitions will help Twiga deepen its national reach and beef up its supply chain muscle.

But behind the scenes, all might not be as rosy. While Twiga says the move shows its commitment to modernising Kenya’s food distribution, insiders are alleging it’s part of a corporate restructuring designed to dodge debts and obligations. Per reports, the company is quietly shutting down its current setup and moving everything into a freshly registered entity codenamed “NewCo.”

As reported by Launch Base Africa, the leaked documents paint a detailed picture of what’s allegedly being called “Project Easter,” a soft liquidation plan that includes ditching Twiga’s Tatu City lease, laying off most of its 435 staff, and transferring operations to Syokimau using third-party logistics. Only about a dozen employees would be rehired, and the Twiga brand would be licensed to NewCo. It’s all aimed at side-stepping pending bills, severance, and commercial leases, according to an anonymous whistleblower.

This all comes on the back of a rocky couple of years for Twiga. The company laid off 40% of its workforce in 2023, faced salary delays, and saw co-founder Peter Njonjo exit early this year after raising $35 million. New CEO Charles Ballard, a former Jumia Kenya boss, promised to steady the ship. But if the leaks are accurate, Twiga’s problems go far deeper than just strategy tweaks.

Even more troubling are the cultural allegations. The whistleblower reportedly claims the work environment is tense, with micromanagement, poor systems, and racial bias favouring foreign execs over qualified Kenyan professionals. Tech-ish says while it hasn’t verified all the claims, several match up with existing reports and internal shifts.

So, while Twiga’s recent buying spree might look like a growth play, the real story could be a company in survival mode. The next few months will show whether Twiga can clean up its internal mess and regain trust or if the restructuring drama overshadows its mission to modernise Africa’s food supply chain.

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