Wasoko

Market position

Described in sources as one of Africa's largest B2B e-commerce/grocery marketplaces and, with MaxAB, part of the continent's largest tech merger to date. Its March 2022 Series B was claimed to be Africa's largest fundraise for a non-fintech startup. Its valuation history has been volatile: $625 million at the 2022 Series B, marked by investor VNV Global to $501 million in Q4 2022 and about $260 million as of December 2023.

Sources cite first-mover advantage — Wasoko has been operational since 2013, whereas many African retail-tech competitors only began fundraising in the three years before 2022 — plus direct supply agreements with major manufacturers that remove intermediaries, a proprietary same-day delivery network, low-tech ordering channels (SMS as well as app) suited to informal merchants, and embedded credit. Wasoko also stated that all employees are shareholders through a universal employee equity policy.

Technology

A mobile ordering application (Wasoko App, distributed via Google Play with 100,000+ downloads and developed by Sokowatch Private Limited) plus SMS-based ordering for low-connectivity users, coupled with a proprietary logistics and localised warehouse network for same-day fulfilment and a credit/BNPL facility.

Go-to-market

Direct acquisition of informal retailers who order through the Wasoko mobile app or by SMS; retailers check coverage of their area on wasoko.com. Growth has been driven by geographic expansion into new African markets and, latterly, consolidation via the MaxAB merger. The 2022 Series B was earmarked for geographic expansion (including exploring Nigeria and Southern African markets) and product diversification into merchant point-of-sale systems, bill payments and social commerce through internal innovation, strategic investments and M&A.

Informal retailers and small shopkeepers across Africa — tuck shops, kiosks, dukas and spaza shops — that sell fast-moving consumer goods, groceries and household essentials.

Geography

Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. At the time of the 2022 Series B it operated in six countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal, with a Zanzibar office opened in 2022 and expansion into Zambia and Uganda in Q2 2023. Following 2024 restructuring it closed Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire hubs, exited Zanzibar and paused Uganda and Zambia, continuing in its three largest GMV markets: Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. The MaxAB merger adds Egypt and Morocco. The Google Play developer listing gives an address in Bengaluru, India for Sokowatch Private Limited.

History

The company was founded as Sokowatch and has been operational since 2013 (TechCrunch cites 2014 as the founding year and Techmoonshot describes a 2013 start in Dar es Salaam; one aggregator source references roots in 2010 with operations ramping around 2013). It raised early seed rounds in 2018 and 2019, a Series A in 2020, and in March 2022 announced a $125 million Series B alongside a rebrand to Wasoko, having expanded from Kenya into six African markets. Expansion continued into Uganda and Zambia in Q2 2023 and a Zanzibar office opened in 2022 under the Silicon Zanzibar initiative. From late 2023 the company reversed course: it announced an all-stock merger with Egypt's MaxAB in December 2023, closed hubs in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, shut the Zanzibar office, paused Uganda and Zambia operations, laid off roughly 10% of staff in January 2024 and over 100 employees in total, and lost multiple senior executives including co-founder Josh Raine, the CFO, CTO and HR head. The merger was expected to complete by the end of March 2024. Founder Daniel Yu stepped down as co-CEO in September 2025, leaving MaxAB co-founder Belal El-Megharbel as sole CEO.

Risks & controversies

Sources document significant distress and controversy: only $113 million of the $125 million Series B was actually received, per Wasoko's own disclosure to TechCrunch; VNV Global cut its carrying value by 48%; the company executed multiple rounds of layoffs, market exits and pauses; numerous senior executives and a co-founder departed; nine former employees sued over exit packages, with ex-staff alleging minimum statutory severance and a rushed process, and one describing the Kenyan team as having been 'swallowed' despite merger-of-equals framing (Wasoko disputed this characterisation). Broader sector risk is noted: challenging unit economics, high costs and constrained funding across African B2B e-commerce, with a 2026 report asserting the group has concluded e-commerce does not work and is betting on fintech instead.