MarketForce, a Nairobi, Kenya-based retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform raised $40 million in Series A funding for its merchant inventory financing and expansion across Africa.
The latest round was led by V8 Capital Partners, a London and Lagos-based African-focused investment vehicle with participation from Ten13 VC, SOSV Select Fund, VU Venture Partners, Vastly Valuable Ventures, and Uncovered Fund.
Existing investors that took part in the round include Reflect Ventures, Greenhouse Capital, Century Oak Capital, and Remapped Ventures. Cellulant co-founder Ken Njoroge, who joins the MarketForce board as chairman, also took part in the round.
MarketForce, which was launched in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda last year after growing beyond Kenya and Nigeria, plans to introduce buy now, pay later (BNPL) options to help merchants access fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) on credit. It also plans to enter additional markets in East and West Africa.
Company: MarketForce Technologies Limited
Raised: $40.0M
Round: Series A
Funding Month: February 2022
Lead Investors: V8 Capital Partners
Additional Investors: Ten13 VC, SOSV Select Fund, VU Venture Partners, Vastly Valuable Ventures, Uncovered Fund, Reflect Ventures, Greenhouse Capital, Century Oak Capital Remapped Ventures, and Ken Njoroge
Company Website: https://marketforce360.com/
Software Category: B2B and end-to-end distribution platform
About the Company: MarketForce was formed in Nairobi, Kenya in late 2018 by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti to digitize retail distribution for emerging markets by enabling consumer brands to manage their field sales activities and grow their distribution channels in Africa. Today, thousands of informal merchants use MarketForce’s B2B Commerce and Fintech marketplace, RejaReja, to source, order, and pay for inventory at any time via interactive mobile channels, and get it delivered directly to their store by the nearest distributor, within hours, every day. MarketForce also enables merchants to earn more by making them a one-stop-shop for popular digital financial services like buying airtime, paying water & electricity bills, and banking & insurance services.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/21/marketforce-raises-40-million-series-a-introduces-bnpl-merchant-stock-financing/