Launched in 2013, with $17.2 million in debt and equity funding, iProcure, which provides an agricultural supply chain platform in rural Africa, has been put under administration over unpaid debts.
Global advisory consulting firm KPMG has been appointed administrator and taken control of iProcure’s assets, operations and debts.
iProcure, like Sendy, which was put under administration and later wound down, was one of the earliest Safaricom Spark Fund portfolio companies including Eneza education, Ajua and Soko Fresh.
Sendy was put under administration after failing to raise follow-on funding or getting a buyer. Startups across the continent are having it rough due to the current credit crunch and due to a poor economic environment following the devastation of COVID-19.
“All the affairs and business and properties of the company are being managed by the Administrator. 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,” KPMG said in a public notice.
Founded in 2015 by Meshack Alloys, Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth, and Malaika Judd, the logistics startups bringing together and connecting trucks, delivery vans and motorcycle riders to delivery jobs and fulfillment centers digitally hoped to make money out of the transport business serving digital commerce platforms. Despite raising over KES 2 billion in funding from firms such as Atlantica Ventures and Toyota Tsusho Corporation and additional funding from MOL PLUS last year, the firm has not been able to survive the post-COVID economic conditions and bad uptake of eCommerce and freight in the country.
Similarly, iProcure raised funding from early on to improve farmers retail operations by improving their inventories, orders, point of sale activities, and client profiles along with geo-located purchasing patterns, real-time agent performance and transaction analysis, and built-in mobile payments.
Founded in 2012 and launched in 2013 by Stefano Carcoforo and Nicole Galletta, the platform’s mission is to facilitate and encourage local procurement, in Kenya, by providing a secure and functional platform where businesses and Institutional buyers can connect to and source goods and services from a base of reliable pre-screened vendors. The Village Capital alumni was helping farmers access high-quality farming inputs and equipment conveniently and affordably. The platform was also helping retailers better predict demand with business intelligence data, improve inventory management, and streamline distribution efficiency.
In August 2022, iProcure secured$10.2 million in series B funding which included $1.2 million debt brought the total funding raised by iProcure to $17.2 million to grow its presence in Kenya and Uganda, which are its current markets, and to expand into Tanzania.
“We have built out a Pan-African distribution infrastructure, and we are using these funds to scale our operations in our two markets and to enter Tanzania. We’re also going to be allocating some of the resources toward introducing higher-quality cheaper products that we are sourcing from international players,” said iProcure co-founder and chief data and growth officer, Stefano Carcoforo.